Dolphins-Packers Week 16 Complete Observations

Breaking down the key moments from the Miami Dolphins' 26-20 loss against the Green Bay Packers at Hard Rock Stadium

Here's what caught our eye during the Miami Dolphins' 26-20 loss against the Green Bay Packers at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

-- We'll start with the inactive list, which provided nothing but good news for the Dolphins with all the front-line players available. The Dolphins inactives are RB Myles Gaskin, CB Noah Igbinoghene, WR Erik Ezukanma, QB Skylar Thompson, T Eric Fisher, TE Tanner Conner and WR River Cracraft. Inactive players who were on the final injury report were Gaskin (illness), Cracraft (quad) and Fisher (quad).

-- RB Jeff Wilson Jr. and S Eric Rowe returned to the lineup after missing the Week 15 game against Buffalo because of injuries.

-- Teddy Bridgewater resumed his role as Tua Tagovailoa's backup at quarterback after being inactive the past four games with a knee injury.

-- The kickoff temperature was 46 degree, making it one of the coldest home games in franchise history.

FIRST QUARTER

-- The Dolphins get the ball first after the Packers win the toss and defer, and it's another good start for the running game, with Raheem Mostert breaking off runs of 14 and 17 through gaping holes through the middle and on the right side. Nice blocks by Alec Ingold and Durham Smythe on the 14-yard run, and great job by Mostert of showing patience before hitting the hole.

-- The drive stalled, though, after yet another third-and-short failure when Tua Tagovailoa tried to hit Tyreek Hill deep down the right sideline. There was contact before the ball got to Hill, but it wasn't a clear-cut DPI and it's to question the wisdom of throwing deep on third-and-3.

-- Jason Sanders finished the drive with his ninth consecutive field goal make, this one from 46 yards.

-- The Dolphins' special teams coverage issues showed up again on the ensuing kickoff when Keisean Nixon went 93 yards to the 9-yard line.

-- Great stand by the defense, though, to hold Green Bay to a field goal, thanks to Elandon Roberts' second-down sack when Aaron Rodgers just held on to the ball deep in the pocket after a naked bootleg instead of just throwing the ball.

-- It didn't take long for the Dolphins to retake the lead, as Tua hit Jaylen Waddle with a short crosser on the next play from scrimmage and Waddle used his speed to get to the end zone for an 84-yard touchdown.

-- On the ensuing kickoff, the Dolphins went for a squib kick right up the middle, maybe with the idea of catching the Packers off guard and get a recovery, but it backfired when the Green Bay player just fell on the ball at the 46-yard line. This has to go down as another special teams failure.

-- Green Bay took advantage of the short field to march 54 yards for a game-tying touchdown on a 1-yard pass from Rodgers to tight end Marcedes Lewis on fourth down.

-- Elandon Roberts again had another impressive defensive series, showing good speed from side to side. Roberts teamed with Jevon Holland to drop Christian Watson for a 2-yard loss on a shovel pass.

-- Bradley Chubb had good outside pressure on a third-and-8, but Rodgers was able to step up and scramble for 12 yards and a first down. 

-- The Dolphins' next drive started off very well, but runs of 12 and 6 by Jeff Wilson Jr. and an 18-yard completion to Hill that moved the ball to the Green Bay 39, but things fell apart from there and center Connor Williams was on the wrong end of the two key plays.

-- First, he was called for holding after Tua scrambled and then his off-target shotgun snap got away from Tua, who then had to fall on the ball for a 7-yard loss.

-- The first quarter ended with Rodgers' 42-yard completion to Allen Lazard deep down the left sideline over Kader Kohou, who actually had decent coverage on the play but was beaten by a perfect throw.

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SECOND QUARTER

-- Green Bay began the second quarter in Miami territory, but the Dolphins defense held thanks in part of great hustle by Jaelan Phillips and a really poor fourth-down throw by Rodgers.

-- On third-and-8 from the Miami 44, Rodgers scrambled to the left and appeared on his way to the first-down marker before Phillips tripped him up from behind because he never stopped hustling on the play.

-- On fourth-and-1, Rodgers took a deep shot to Watson after he got a couple of steps behind Kohou but badly overthrew him to turn the ball over on downs.

-- The Dolphins overcame two penalties on their next drive, including a holding by Terron Armstead on a running play, to regain the lead 17-10 thanks to two big plays.

-- The first was a 24-yard completion to Mike Gesicki (remember him?) after a Packers defender tried to jump a short route and the second was a 52-yard hook-up to Tyreek Hill after he got behind the secondary as he's done so many times this season.

-- After holding the Packers to 9 yards on the next possession, the Dolphins clogged up the middle when Green Bay tried a fake punt on fourth-and-1 from its 20-yard line. Raekwon Davis finished the play with a tackle from behind, but props need to go to Clayton Fejedelem and John Jenkins, among others, for not allowing any space for the up back.

-- The Dolphins turned the fourth-down stop into a 34-yard field goal by Sanders, but not until Tua was sacked twice — both times on plays where he had a decent amount of time. Replay of the first sack also showed Hill wide open in the middle of the field for an easy completion before Tua ran out of time.

-- There was another holding penalty on the Dolphins on that drive, with Robert Hunt getting the flag on a play that often goes uncalled.

-- The defense had another three-and-out on the next possession after Fejedelem's open-field tackle on the return.

-- Safety Eric Rowe sacked Rodgers on second down after he stepped up in the pocket to avoid pressure from Christian Wilkins.

-- Cornerback Xavien Howard had a pass breakup, but it came on a high ball that he normally would pick off.

-- The Dolphins had the ball at midfield right after the two-minute warning, but Mostert fumbled when DT Jarran Reed kept pulling at the ball, giving the Packers a chance to cut into Miami's 20-10 lead before halftime.

-- The Dolphins got some good defensive plays on Green Bay's final drive, including a stop for no gain by Zach Sieler on a run, a pass breakup by Kader Kohou, and a pass batted down by Wilkins.

-- The plays helped the Dolphins forced the Packers to attempt a last-second 46-yard field goal, which Mason Crosby made to make it a 20-13 score at halftime.

THIRD QUARTER

-- The second half begins with the Packers getting the ball and marching 78 yards to tie the score 20-20, but it took a gutsy call of going for the first down on fourth-and-1 from the Green Bay 31 to keep the drive.

-- After Zach Sieler tackled A.J. Dillon for a 3-yard loss, Rodgers came back with completions of 17 yards to running back Patrick Taylor and 31 yards to Marcedes Lewis. Replays showed Lewis maybe trapping the ball, something confirmed by FOX rules analyst Mike Pereira, but the Dolphins didn't challenge the ruling and head coach Mike McDaniel said afterward nobody on the coaching staff got the right replay quickly enough.

-- The Dolphins' next drive also featured a fourth-and-1 in their own territory that featured a bold decision, and Mostert easily converted with a 9-yard run up the middle.

-- The drive featured more pressure on Tua than we had seen in the first half and it led to the drive stalling after a 24-yard completion from Tua to Waddle moved the ball to the Packers 32. Jason Sanders then saw his streak of consecutive successful field goal attempts end at 11 with a bad miss to the right on a 48-yard kick.

-- Green Bay moved to the Miami 34 after the missed field goal before a holding penalty put the Packers in a first-and-20 situation to start the fourth quarter.

FOURTH QUARTER

-- That drive ended on a third-and-15 from the 39 when Rodgers threw deep for Allen Lazard, but Kohou came up with his first career interception. Replays showed Kohou maybe shoved Lazard before the ball got there, but officials let DBs play the whole game and did the same there.

-- The momentum turned around right away when, on the very next play, Tua tried to drop a pass to Hill with four defenders around him but overshot him right into the arms of CB Jaire Alexander.

-- On a second-and-15, Jaelan Phillips made a mistake by shoving Rodgers after he had completed a short pass and while the contact was far from significant it was enough to get a flag for roughing the passer for a first-and-goal at the 7.

-- The Dolphins defense held Green Bay to a field goal thanks in large part to Andrew Van Ginkel making an open-field tackle to drop Lazard for a 5-yard loss on a swing pass.

-- Trailing 23-20, Tua threw a 16-yard completion to Waddle before converting a third-and-7 with a 10-yard hook-up with Trent Sherfield over the middle.

-- On a second-and-8 from the Packers 25, Tua had an apparent 15-yard completion to Waddle for a first-and-goal but Waddle was flagged for an illegal formation. On the next play, there was miscommunication between Tua and Mostert and the result was an easy pick for linebacker De'Vondre Campbell.

-- Trailing 23-20, the Dolphins defense needed a stop to give the offense a chance and got it ... sort of.

-- The Dolphins gave up plays of 22 and 13 as the Packers moved to a first-and-10 at the Miami 28.

-- On first down, Bradley Chubb got pressure around the edge and the Packers were flagged for holding, making it first-and-20 at the Miami 38. But the defense got pinned inside on the next play, allowing Aaron Jones to take a pitch 18 yards to set up a second-and-2 at the 20.

-- John Jenkins then was flagged for encroachment, which Mike McDaniel explained later came as the result of a decision to try to time the snap count to create a negative run or hand the Packers a first down, which percentages say they would have gotten regardless.

-- On the next snap, the Dolphins bottled up Jones for a 3-yard loss and Phillilps then saved a touchdown with a shoestring tackle from behind after Dillon broke into open field up the middle.

-- That helped the Dolphins hold Green Bay to a field goal that made it 26-20, giving the offense that one last chance.

-- The Dolphins took possession at their 28 after the two-minute warning following Mostert's 24-yard kickoff return, needing to go 72 yards without a timeout.

-- After settling for a dump-off to Jeff Wilson Jr. for only 3 yards on first down, Tagovailoa threw to throw downfield near the sideline to Gesicki, but Rasul Douglas drifted over and under Gesicki to make the easy pick and clinch the victory.

-- The fourth turnover of the game clinched Miami's fourth consecutive loss.

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