It took a long time for us to get here, but the NFL season is finally here. For fans of the Miami Dolphins, it took even longer for us to get here, in more ways than one. With today’s game against the Tennessee Titans, not only did fans see the 2018 NFL season kick off, we finally got the return of quarterback Ryan Tannehill. It was a wait more than 600 days in the making, as of 1 p.m. ET, the day was finally here.
Or was it?
As if playing a cruel joke on Miami Dolphins fans everywhere, for the second year in a row the team’s opening game was impacted by weather. Last season the game was rescheduled entirely thanks to Hurricane Irma. This season kickoff came on time, but the finish was postponed twice thanks to lightning in the area. The end result was the longest game in the NFL since the merger.
More importantly, however, the end result was a Dolphins victory.
It wasn’t always pretty. In fact, for a large portion of the game it was anything but. The team struggled with efficiency, performing poorly in the red zone on offense, and struggling to get off the field on third down on defense. But thanks in large part to some big plays and Tannehill’s return, Miami escapes and sits atop the AFC East.
Today’s victory was the textbook definition of a team effort. All three phases of the game played a part in the victory. Before we turn our attention to next week and the New York Jets, let’s look at the three keys to today’s hard-fought win.
Next Page: Big Plays
