The Good

Tyreek Hill had another monster game with 9 catches for 146 yards and a 45-yard TD on a beautifully thrown bomb from Tua.

Christian Wilkins was a disruptive force up front, amassing 12 tackles.

The Bad

Tua Tagovailoa had an off day, throwing several passes high in the first half, some of which continued into the second half. Eventually, those off passes turned into picks against a very good, opportunistic 49ers defense.

The offensive line simply could not hold up in obvious passing situations. Joey Bosa consistently made his plays on 3rd downs, when the Dolphins needed to executive the most.

I felt the playcalling was not appropriate for the way Tua came out. McDaniel should have dialed it back a bit to get his team to settle down. Running the ball, taking some time off the clock and punting it is much better than turning the ball over. It was clear the team was overhyped and things needed to be dialed back just a bit to let them settle in.

The Ugly

While the defense kept the Dolphins in the game, they gave up 121 yards on the ground and let Mr. Irrelevant beat them. The 49ers converted 24 first downs, were 8-19 on third downs, and controlled the clock for over 40 minutes. Some of this has to do with the Dolphins offense getting off the field too quickly. But a lot of it has to do with the Dolphins not stopping some pretty simple plays to be honest. With a 7th round rookie QB, you know the 49ers were going to go more towards gadget type plays and their bread and butter, which is the run. The Dolphins defense did not seem prepared for that, which is interesting considering the Dolphins head coach just came from the 49ers.

That holding call on Robert Hunt probably played as big a role in the game as anything. While I hate to blame the officiating, there clearly was no holding there and the Dolphins were driving and had quite a bit of momentum at that point. When it rains, it pours.

Overall

The Dolphins are still well-positioned to make the playoffs, but they have to get back to winning. Next up are the San Diego Chargers, who certainly have a much softer defense than the 49ers. The problem is, will the team come out too hyped up again, especially Tua, who will be facing off against the guy many Dolphins fans feel should have been the pick at #5?

The Good

The first half was perfection. The Dolphins scored 30 points and allowed 0 points. This was the expected performance by a team contending for the playoffs versus the team with the worst record in the league.

The passing game was gaining yards at will. The Texans did slow down the run a bit, despite being one of the worst run defenses in the league. Hill and Waddle did their thing, catches passes in that 10-19 yard zone they have been attacking all season.

On defense, turnovers were produced. An interception by Andrew Van Ginkel and a forced fumble by Eric Rowe on a vicious hit that was scooped up by X for a touchdown.

The first half couldn't have gone any better.

Overall, the defense allowed 210 total yards, 14 first downs, 2 of 13 on third down, forced three turnovers and sacked the QB 5 times.

The Bad

In the second half, the Dolphins were outscored 15-0 by a hapless Texans team. The offensive line fell apart after Terron Armstead went down. Austin Jackson went out with an injury late after having a solid game. So the bad news here is the offensive line that was starting to look like a strength, is now a MASH unit. That could have a huge impact on the rest of the season.

The Ugly

Tua got sacked 3 times in a row when the game was well in hand. He probably should have been taken out earlier.

Questionable approach, aside from keeping Tua in, was to continue being pass happy in the second half given the score and the situation that was materializing with pass protection.

Skylar Thompson had a rough outing, in large part due to the poor protection.

Overall

The Dolphins are 8-3, in first place in the AFC East, own the second seed in the AFC. But things are about to get real. Their opponents are a combined 38-29 and they have four games on the road. Some out west, some in the cold. This is the part of the season that will tell us how good this team actually is.