Tennessee Titans 30, Miami Dolphins 17
Here are the highest-graded players and top takeaways from the Titans' 30-17 win over the Dolphins on Sunday:
Quarterback grade: Marcus Mariota, 80.6
Marcus Mariota impresses under pressure
With the Titans' running attack hitting on all cylinders, Marcus Mariota was put into a position to take what the Dolphins gave him. He responded with only three incompletions under 10 yards, and had an adjusted completion percentage of 77.8. The most impressive success of Mariota was his performance under pressure, where he completed 72.7 percent of his passes; in fact, all three touchdowns came when he was under duress.
Top offensive grades:
LT Taylor Lewan, 82.4
QB Marcus Mariota, 80.6
RB DeMarco Murray, 78.3
TE Anthony Fasano, 74
WR Rishard Matthews, 72.5
DeMarco Murray takes advantage of solid run-blocking
The Titans won this game on the back of their run game, as both the running backs and the offensive line provided big holes to record 235 total rushing yards. Most impressive were the 13 forced missed tackles by DeMarco Murray. The Titans where able to record 155 of the 195 yards on designed runs with a point off attack that was on the left side of the offense.
Top defensive grades:
DE Karl Klug, 88.7
OLB Brian Orakpo, 81.7
LB Sean Spence, 80.4
LB Avery Williamson, 78.1
OLB Derrick Morgan, 76.5
Defensive end Karl Klug impresses as pass-rusher
The Titans gave the Dolphins' makeshift left side of the offensive line fits, as Billy Turner and Dallas Thomas, in particular, were unable to contain Karl Klug, as he was too strong and able to bull-rush both backups to the tune of two QB hits and another four hurries.
Quarterback grade: Ryan Tannehill, 76.7
Tannehill performs well despite loss
The headline coming out of this game will be how poorly the Dolphins' performed, likely followed by questions of whether or not Ryan Tannehill should continue to be the starter. While Tannehill may not be lifting the offense as expected, he actually played above-average against the Titans, especially considering that he was under pressure on 66.7 percent of his dropbacks. The late interception resulted from the offensive line not giving Tannehill time in the pocket, as he was hit on the pass, causing the ball to sail. While Tannehill might not be the best QB in the league, he is playing better than most will give him credit for.
Top offensive grades:
RB Jay Ajayi, 80.3
QB Ryan Tannehill, 76.6
RT Ja’Wuan James, 74.6
WR DeVante Parker, 73.5
WR Jarvis Landry, 68.5
Offensive line struggles immensely against Titans' D-line
The Dolphins need to get both Larmey Tunsil and Branden Albert back fast, as both Dallas Thomas and Billy Turner showed once again that they are unable to perform well against powerful defensive lineman. On just 27 dropbacks, Turner and Thomas combined for 13 total pressures and many run plays blown up because of their inability to block the Titans' interior defensive line.
Top defensive grades:
LB Donald Butler, 80.7
CB Byron Maxwell, 79.9
DE Cameron Wake 79.2
S Reshad Jones, 77.9
CB Bobby McCain, 75.8
Missed tackles a major issue for Miami defense
The Dolphins' defense knew they were going to be facing a lot of rushing attempts from the Titans, and for the most part, they played pretty well at the line of scrimmage. The biggest issue was their inability to tackle; Miami missed 18 tackles, as the Titans often forced the Dolphins to make a one-on-one tackle on the edge, with the Dolphins failing on multiple occasions. When Miami did hit either DeMarco Murray or Derrick Henry in the backfield, the Titans' rushing duo would find a way to either force a missed tackle in the backfield, or manage to create yards after contact to prevent Tennessee from losing yards.
PFF Game-Ball Winner: Titans DE Karl Klug
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