Dolphins-Browns 2024 Week 17 Instant Takeaways

Huntley, defense lead the way in decisive must-win victory against the Cleveland Browns

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tyler Huntley (18) is defended by Cleveland Browns linebacker Jordan Hicks (58) during the second quarter at Huntington Bank Field. / Scott Galvin-Imagn Images

What stood out in the Miami Dolphins Week 17 game against the Cleveland Browns, a 20-3 victory that kept their playoff hopes alive.

We'll start with the inactive list, which obviously was highlighted by quarterback Tua Tagovailoa missing his fifth game of the season but his first because of a hip injury. Also among the inactives was wide receiver Jaylen Waddle (knee).

The Dolphins went with four active running backs for the second time all season.

With Tagovailoa inactive, Tyler Huntley made his fourth start of the season and Skylar Thompson served as his backup after being elevated from the practice squad.

---

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS

This was a game the Dolphins figured to win because the Browns are so limited offensively, and they were very efficient in doing just that to improve to 8-8 and make their season finale against the New York Jets meaningful.

The offense started off being a sloppy fest in the first half with numerous penalties that kept the team in bad down-and-distance situations.

Tyler Huntley was about as good as could be expected, if not better. In fact, the offense looked an awful lot like it looked most of the season, meaning it was efficient when penalties weren't stalling the offense and Huntley completed a high percentage of his passes. The different is Huntley made a few passes with his running ability.

Huntley actually might have thrown the ball downfield at a greater clip than Tua has this season.

The defense had a strong performance, which was to be expected against a poor Cleveland offense led by a quarterback (Dorian Thompson-Robinson), who respectfully has the look of a practice squad player.

The Dolphins again used a rotation at right guard with Liam Eichenberg and Isaiah Wynn, and we're still wondering exactly what the point is.

Speaking of the offensive line, sad to see Terron Armstead again leave the game early because of his troublesome right knee. We have to wonder again whether this might have been his last game in a Dolphins uniform.

FIRST QUARTER

-- De'Von Achane got off to a good start with gains of 9 and 6 yards on two of his first three runs, but he never got that kind of success again.

-- The Dolphins' first drive featured a couple of bad mistakes, including Wynn committing a personal foul and then Huntley losing 9 yards when he wasn't looking as a shotgun snap hit him in the chest.

-- More sloppiness on the second drive, including a holding penalty on Aaron Brewer negated what was a spectacular diving catch by Achane.

-- And then money time, with Jason Sanders nailing (as usual) a 54-yard field goal attempt.

SECOND QUARTER

-- The second quarter began with the Browns with a first-and-goal from the 7-yard line, but the Dolphins held them to a field goal. Jevon Holland had the big play when his penetration forced Jerome Ford wide on an outside run.

-- Impressive interception over the middle by linebacker Tyrel Dodson, starting for the injured Anthony Walker Jr., but he's got to be smarter than immediately removing his helmet in celebration and costing the Dolphins 15 yards for no reason.

-- That was followed by another brutally sloppy sequence that featured a holding penalty on Armstead, a false start on Kendall Lamm and a sack. Ugh.

-- Calais Campbell and Quinton Bell teamed to a huge fourth-down stop on fourth-and-1 at the Miami 38 that set the stage for a late field goal that gave Miami a 6-3 halftime lead.

-- Great sequence by Huntley on the two-minute drill three consecutive completions to Malik Washington, though Washington made a great catch on a pass thrown behind him.

THIRD QUARTER

-- The first drive of the half featured the Dolphins' first third-down conversion of the game on a 16-yard completion from Huntley to River Cracraft.

-- Huntley showed off his athletic ability on the next play with a 13-yard touchdown scramble.

-- An example of just how dysfunctional the Cleveland offense was the next drive for the Browns featured a false start followed by an inentional grounding penalty when Thompson-Robinson was in Calais Campbell's grasp.

-- Just when the Browns were making headway on their next drive, Campbell dropped Robinson-Thompson for a 3-yard loss on a keeper and then Emmanuel Ogbah made a big play against his original NFL team with a chop to get by the offensive lineman and strip the ball from DTR to cause a turnover.

-- The Dolphins' last offensive snap of the third quarter was a dreadful one, a pitch to Achane on fourth-and-1 from the Cleveland 36 that ended up resulting in a 2-yard loss. It boggles the mind why the Dolphins don't go straight ahead in those situations.

FOURTH QUARTER

-- Great goal-line stand to start the fourth quarter, including shutting running lands for Thompson-Robinson after he bootlegged to his left and then Jalen Ramsey coming up with the big pass breakup on fourth-and-goal from the 3.

-- Of course, an argument could be made the Browns should have taken the sure-thing field goal to make it a one-score game, but maybe we get their desire to give DTR meaningful game snaps since they've long been eliminated from playoff contention.

-- The Dolphins went three-and-out on the ensuing possession because of a bad drop by Malik Washington a second-down pass. Of course, one could question running a straight handoff with Wilson third-and-9.

-- The Dolphins had another drive that ended in a punt in the fourth quarter, but not before Huntley gained 11 and 18 yards on two scrambles to get first downs and run more clock.

-- Jake Bailey didn't have a great punting day, but he did nail it with his punt downed at the 2-yard line.

-- After the Dolphins stopped the Browns on fourth-and-5 with Jordyn Brooks' big hit short of the sticks, Huntley finished off his performance in style by adding a touchdown pass to Jonnu Smith.