Massive Game Comes Just in Time for Jaylen Waddle

Jaylen Waddle cashes in on the stat sheet when it was needed most.

MIAMI GARDENS – The Miami Dolphins picked up their third win in a row, rolling breakout rookie Drake Maye and the New England Patriots 34-15 in a game where the Dolphins offense could do no wrong.

Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was in his bag, going 29/40, 72% completion percentage, 317 yards, four touchdowns and no turnovers. A good chunk of those yards were produced by the man who needed it most, Jaylen Waddle.

Saying the young star was due would be an understatement, but you wouldn’t know that by his face or his interviews in the media. He’s a selfless player who has taken a back seat this year within the offense, but not due to anything wrong on his part.

Waddle finished the game with eight catches for 144 yards and a touchdown, finishing over the one-hundred-yard mark for the first time since week one and secured only his second touchdown of the year.

Though Waddle had a breakout performance, the offense is at its best when Tagovailoa plays point guard and hits the right player. It’s random. Whoever the defense gives its best matchup to, the ball is most likely going there. Today, it was Jaylen Waddle.

Waddle and Tyreek Hill’s stretching of the field has been a point of emphasis for defenses this year, playing two safeties high the majority of the time. This reduces their ability to hit homerun balls, but it hasn’t stopped their scoring output and it’s actually increased their efficiency.

The offense isn’t top-heavy for the first time in the Mike McDaniel era, and it should stay that way.

Miss The Waddle

In an offense where one of several players can have a big game at any time, it’s hard to be the typical first or second option. That’s what Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill have been the last two years, but since Tagovailoa’s return from IR, the duo has not produced anywhere near their averages.

Specifically to Waddle, he’s taken a back seat in the offense, totaling only 404 yards and one touchdown over ten games this season coming into Sunday.

Football is a team sport, and winning is the ultimate goal, but offensive players, especially receivers, have a mental quota to fill. If the stats aren’t there, the money is there either. Luckily, the Dolphins already locked Waddle up over the next four years, so there are no worries regarding contracts, but guys still want to hit their numbers.

Finishing up the year under 1000 yards isn’t something any star receiver wants unless there’s a guaranteed Super Bowl win. That’s the ego players have, and it’s part of what got them to the league. It’s their competitiveness, and running empty routes every game isn’t going to make any star receiver happy.

Nevertheless, Waddle never made a face or a sound regarding targets, and his patience was rewarded against the Patriots. Tagovailoa fed him all day on every route on the route tree, and it gave me flashbacks of the Waddle show last year against the New York Jets when Tyreek Hill was out. It was a sight to see, and you could tell how excited the team was for his breakout performance.

When asked about how it felt being so involved in the offense, Waddle answered like someone who’s fully bought in: “It felt good. Always feels good after a win, having a good game. Having an individually good game don’t mean nothing without a win so that’s always good.”

Regarding any frustrations this year, Waddle responded, “No, man. I was more frustrated from the losses than individual, me having individual goals or anything. That’s more like a media thing, really.”

He may not be getting the ball at the same rate as previous years, but when he gets his opportunities, he makes the most out of them, including a touchdown catch off a quick RPO where Waddle split two players and pushed his way into the end zone.

I do have a concern about the touchdown though, where’s the Waddle?

On Waddle’s touchdown, he broke out a new touchdown celebration and put the Waddle on a sabbatical. “I don’t know if retiring. I don’t know. I don’t know if it’s retiring. It needs a break for a little minute.”

It’s only been one touchdown without it, but I already miss the Waddle.

The Good Soldier

With Waddle’s breakout game, it’s great to see his patience come to fruition with a stat sheet stuffer, but unfortunately, it may not come again for a few weeks.

Defenses just witnessed what happens when you give him too much breathing room. Blowouts, fast.

Defenses will likely keep their new constant cover-2 defense against the Dolphins and keep the shots downfield from happening. The Dolphins will have to continue to nickel and dime defenses, stay efficient, and occasionally take those fan-favorite deep shots.

Tyreek Hill is due for a few big games soon, along with Tagoviloa’s new security blanket in Jonnu Smith, and the emergence of De’von Achane will more than likely keep Waddle contained within the stat-stuffing department, but Waddle will be ready when his opportunities come.

Jaylen Waddle struck like lightning today and will again, hopefully just in bigger games on grander stages.