Miami Dolphins take care of the Cleveland Browns behind Huntley, defense

Quarterback Tyler Huntley took over for the injured Tua Tagovailoa and led the Miami Dolphins to a 20-3 victory over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday afternoon.

The Dolphins have evened their record to 8-8 and are still in the hunt for a playoff spot. Miami needs to win at the New York Jets next week. They also need the Kansas City Chiefs to beat the Denver Broncos.

Huntley was very efficient in his game on Sunday, going 22 of 26 for 225 yards and a touchdown.

It should be noted that one of Huntley’s incompletions was giving the ball away on a spike for a field goal to Jason Sanders on the final play of the first half.

Huntley also scored the game-winning touchdown with his legs on a 13-yard excursion in the third quarter. He would also finish the game as the Dolphins’ leading rusher with 52 yards on seven carries.

“I was just trying to get a little more space, man,” Huntley said. “With these cleats it was difficult to get my feet off the ground, but I was able to help the team make some plays.”

The start didn’t come as a complete surprise to Huntley. He had an inkling earlier this week that he might have experienced something. Because Tagovailoa’s hip was so painful, the two took turns training.

“I mean, we had an opportunity because he was a little sore coming in one day,” Huntley said. He was feeling a little sore earlier this week and we turned off the replays.”

Tyreek Hill had a very productive day. He was Huntley’s preferred receiver as he had nine targets and made nine receptions. He had 105 yards that day. Hill was in double coverage all afternoon since Jaylen Waddle was out of the game for the Browns and didn’t have to worry about it.

Hill said he took more time to work with Huntley over the past week. He sees the extra time invested as the key to success on Sunday afternoons.

“Snoop came into a new offense, into a new building and looked at unfamiliar faces,” Hill said. “He really didn’t feel comfortable telling guys what to do or really understanding the offense and where guys should be.” Today’s game showed he can throw the ball in a timely manner, that he can read defenses and that he can also make plays with his feet. For him to be able to do all that and then come into the locker room at halftime and then talk to the entire offense and tell us to take it a step further shows the development and shows that he’s here first and now arrives. That really impressed me. A lot of guys started playing in the second half. We did a good job moving the ball up and down the field, we just shot ourselves in the foot. That’s it, pre-snap penalties, holds and false starts and all sorts of craziness. He led us well.”

The Dolphins were also helped by a defense that caused two turnovers and three additional turnovers on downs.

The Dolphins limited the Browns to 170 yards passing and 114 yards on the ground. The defensive line had Browns quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson on his heels throughout the game.

The front seven resulted in Thompson-Robinson being warned three times for intentional grounding as he was under extreme pressure from Calais Campbell and Chop Robinson.

“I think that’s why he’s here. Every week you just think, ‘Wow, we’re lucky to have this guy.'” “He almost has the youth football energy towards football,” Miami coach Mike McDaniel said of Campbell. “It’s just a love for it that he’s never really satisfied with.” His appetite for the game is strong and every time he speaks the team takes it very seriously and leaves an impression on them. I think he’s one of the absolute reasons we’re still alive for the postseason and have a chance to play a guaranteed game.

“If we take care of business, we have the opportunity to move forward in the season and that was the whole motivation and purpose of us trying to turn things around because you know, if you’re capable of it, you are a …”A weatherproof, experienced and strong team that has everything you need in December and January football.”

Tyrel Dodson led the defense with 15 total tackles. Jordyn Brooks contributed ten tackles, eight of which were unassisted.