Dolphins-49ers Week 13 Complete Observations

Breaking down the key moments from the Miami Dolphins' 33-17 loss against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium

Here's what caught our eye during the Miami Dolphins' 33-17 loss against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium.

-- We'll start with the inactive list, which was highlighted by Terron Armstead (toe/pec) joining Austin Jackson (ankle) on the sideline. Though that shouldn't have come as a surprise, it was disappointing nonetheless. Also inactive after being on the injury report during the week were QB Teddy Bridgewater (knee) and RB Myles Gaskin (shoulder/ankle). The other inactives were CB Noah Igbinoghene, WR Erik Ezukanma and TE Hunter Long.

-- Raheem Mostert returned to the lineup to give the Dolphins a trio of running backs who all played for the 49ers at one point.

-- As expected, the starting offensive line had Greg Little at left and Brandon Shell at right tackle.

FIRST QUARTER

-- Wow, talk about starting fast! The Dolphins lost the coin toss for only the second time all season, get the opening kickoff and, BAM, Tua hits Trent Sherfield with a quick pass out of the slot and Sherfied takes advantage of a bad angle by a 49ers safety to race 75 yards for a touchdown.

-- Interesting to note that newcomer Justin Zimmer starts on defense when the 49ers get the ball.

-- The 49ers came back with a field goal drive with a couple of big plays and mistakes by the defense.

-- On the first third-down situation, Brandon Aiyuk got past Xavien Howard on a crossing pattern to catch a 23-yard pass.

-- Christian McCaffrey had a 33-yard gain when he went out on the right side and easily got past linebacker Duke Riley as Riley lost his balance when he tried to bump the running back.

-- The Dolphins limited the damage when Jerome Baker came in free on third-and-6 from the Miami 19 to quickly get to Garoppolo and Jaelan Phillips helped bring him down for the sack. This looked like a miscue by the 49ers.

-- The Dolphins' second drive didn't work out nearly as well.

-- On first down, there looked to be some mix-up between Tua and Tyreek Hill with the result a throw way off the mark.

-- Tua went over the middle for Sherfield on third-and-6, but linebacker Fred Warner got a deep drop and got his hand on the touch pass to knock it away.

-- While the Dolphins offensive possession was going on, 49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo was carted off into the locker room with a left foot injury.

-- After the Dolphins gave up the ball, their special teams failed again, giving up a 20-yard punt return that allowed the 49ers to start their second drive at their own 

-- Purdy is a rookie, but the 49ers offense didn't look vastly different with him in the lineup and he converted his first third-down situation when McCaffrey beat Riley again, this time in the open field, to catch a 7-yard pass.

-- After Zach Sieler pressured Purdy into an incompletion and Howard had a nice pass breakup to force a third-and-10, the drive was kept alive when Kader Kohou went over the back of Aiyuk before the ball got to him for a 14-yard DPI.

-- After two McCaffrey run gained 12 yards for a first-and-goal at the 3, the defense let fullback Kyle Juszczyk wide open after he got out into the flat — Jevon Holland and Kohou looked like the two closest defenders — for an easy 49ers touchdown and a 10-7 San Francisco lead.

-- The Dolphins' third possession produced a second consecutive three-and-out and this one was the result of two missed throws by Tua, a floater down the middle to Waddle and then a short hop to the left. On both occasions, the pass protection — a major concern coming into the game — was very good.

-- The third 49ers possession featured a tripping penalty against Melvin Ingram that gave San Francisco a first down, and it was a call that easily could have been ignored as Ingram was engaged with a blocker and McCaffrey ran into his leg — though Ingram kept his leg off the ground, which likely is what drew the flag.

-- In any event, the drive ended when Christian Wilkins easily beat a blocker and met McCaffrey in the backfield to drop him for a 3-yard loss on third-and-2 from midfield.

-- Tua began the next Dolphins possession by overthrowing Waddle down the field, but came right back with a nice throw to tight end Durham Smythe over the middle for a 19-yard gain.

-- After fullback Alec Ingold dropped a pass thrown slightly ahead of him (but clearly catchable), the Dolphins sent Tyreek Hill in motion to the right side of the formation and he was able to catch a pass thrown behind him for an easy 18-yard gain as the first quarter ended with the Dolphins having a first-and-10 at their own 47 trailing 10-7.

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SECOND QUARTER

-- The drive ended with a field goal by Jason Sanders from 43 yards out, with the big play a 17-yard completion down the field to Hill, the play that's been so successful for the Dolphins all season.

-- The drive had a disappointing ending, though, with the questionable decision to have Tua drop back to pass on a third-and-1 that was more like third-and-half a yard. After Ingold and running back Jeff Wilson Jr. both failed to slow down Nick Bosa, he dropped Tua for a sack that forced the field goal attempt.

-- The Dolphins defense forced a three-and-out on the next series with a very aggressive look.

-- Zach Sieler stopped Deebo Samuel after no gain on a first-down run and Phillips' pressure forced a quick throw on third-and-5 with Keion Crossen all over Samuel to knock away the ball.

-- The Dolphins' next series produced a lightning-quick three-and-out after three straight incompletions.

-- While there was a bit more pressure on Tua in this series, that didn't account for the three incompletions because his first-down pass was off target and Jeff Wilson Jr. failed to come up with a difficult but makeable catch on second down.

-- The 49ers threatened to take the lead on their next possession, but the Dolphins defense came up with a couple of big plays.

-- Two plays after Jordan Mason reeled off a 19-yard run, Andrew Van Ginkel sacked him on second down to eventually force a fourth-and-4 from the Miami 39.

-- After the 49ers decided to go for the first down (rightly so), Xavien Howard came up with his first pick of the season after he had tight coverage on Aiyuk. Considering he made the interception at the Dolphins 19, Howard actually would have been better off just knocking the ball down.

-- The Dolphins' next drive began with an 18-yard completion to River Cracraft when Tua did a good job of scanning the field, but he later overthrew Hill deep down the middle and was sacked on third-and-8 when Nick Bosa looped at the line and came in unblocked quickly up the middle.

-- The 49ers got the ball around the two-minute warning and moved into Dolphins territory when Purdy made a great throw down the middle to George Kittle for 19 yards with Jaelan Phillips bearing down on him with a clear path from the snap.

-- Xavien Howard was on the wrong end of two big plays later in the drive, first missing Jauan Jennings in the open field on a 19-yard gain and then getting flagged for an obvious DPI for a 4-yard gain.

-- That was followed by an 18-yard gain by McCaffrey on a screen and on third-and-goal from the 3, McCaffrey scored on a 3-yard catch with 4 seconds left in the half for a 17-10 halftime lead and massive momentum heading into the second half when the 49ers get the ball first.

THIRD QUARTER

-- The second half begins on a good note for the Dolphins, who allow one first down but then force a punt after Zach Sieler pressures Purdy into an incompletion and Melvin Ingram gets a sack on third down after initial pressure from Bradley Chubb.

-- After starting their drive at their 38, the Dolphins quickly get into scoring position with a 19-yard completion from Tua to Tyreek Hill, combined with a roughing-the-passer penalty on Nick Bosa for hitting Tua low.

-- Things go badly south from there, though.

-- After Robert Jones gets flagged for a false start, Robert Hunt gets called for a dubious holding penalty to wipe out what would have been an 18-yard run by Raheem Mostert.

-- Now facing a first-and-25 from the 49ers 43, Tua gets quick pressure when Hunt gets beat by Arik Armstead and a mix-up leads to an interception. Jeff Wilson Jr. goes out into a pattern, never turns around to look for the ball, and worse stumbles as the ball arrives, allowing safety Jimmy Ward a clear path to jump and catch Tua's throw.

-- A good tackle in the open field by Jevon Holland against McCaffrey after the Dolphins sent six at Purdy on third-and-3 forces a fourth-and-1 at the Miami 25 and Zach Sieler completely jammed up the middle and stoned Purdy, but he then spun to the right and was able to gain 2 yards. Replays show Eric Rowe failing to come up to the line to fill the gap after Sieler's initial stop.

-- The next play is the crazy one where the Dolphins sniff out an end-around and have four players (Holland, Phillips, Wilkins and Chubb) surrounding Samuel some 8 yards behind the line of scrimmage. Samuel somehow manages to escape the group by getting low and breaks through before Elandon Roberts tackles him for a 4-yard loss.

-- The drive ends with a 43-yard field goal by Robbie Gould that makes it 20-10.

-- On the very next snap, Tua rolls right but throws behind Hill, who deflects the ball into the air and into the waiting arms of 49ers DB Deommodore Lenoir for a second interception in two passes.

-- The defense forces a three-and-out, including a pass breakup by Rowe, to force a field goal that makes it 23-10 but keeps it a two-score game.

--  The disappointing third quarter ends, appropriately enough, with Sherfield getting called for a false start, creating a first-and-15 from the Miami 36 to start the fourth quarter.

FOURTH QUARTER

-- No problem. Tua completes a 19-yard pass on the first play after the defense gives him a huge cushion downfield and turns around.

-- On the next play, Hill scores on a 45-yard touchdown when he runs a deep post and easily gets inside the cornerback as the safety moves up to defend Sherfield running underneath. From there, it's an easy pitch-and-catch for Tua and Tyreek and the Dolphins suddenly are within one score at 23-17.

-- The defense does its job again on the next series, forcing a punt after San Francisco gets one first down.

-- This becomes the key possession of the game and it gets interesting quickly with the Dolphins facing a fourth-and-1 at their 19 after a downfield completion to Sherfield gets overturned after the 49ers challenge. There's 9:59 left when Mike McDaniel decides to go for it and his gamble pays off when Tua hits Hill for a 9-yard gain on a play where he also could have gotten the first down by running for it or simply thrown a short dump-off pass to fullback Alec Ingold, who was wide open beyond the sticks.

-- An 8-yard run, Mostert's longest of the game, moves the ball to the San Francisco 44-yard line and things are looking good for the Dolphins.

-- Things stall, though, when on third-and-2, the line allows too much penetration and rookie Drake Jackson knocks down Tua's pass, forcing another fourth-down situation.

-- The Dolphins appear to convert with a 3-yard completion to Mike Gesicki near the sideline, but the 49ers challenge the ruling again — and are successful again. And whereas the Sherfield play earlier in the drive might not have been totally clear cut, this one sure seemed to be, even though McDaniel and WR coach Wes Welker both were yelling on the sideline. It was a good effort by Gesicki on the catch, but a better effort by linebacker Dre Greenlaw in closing on the tight end after he made his out cut, and Tua threw the ball slightly behind Gesicki, allowing Greenlaw to affect the play.

-- Still only down by six, the defense needed another stop with exactly 6 minutes left, but it didn't come.

-- San Francisco converted a third-and-1 with a quick out pass to George Kittle with Jerome Baker in coverage.

-- Deebo Samuel got another first down when he took a pitch outside as a running back and sprinted 9 yards to the Dolphins 41.

-- Then came maybe the decisive blow, McCaffrey taking advantage of a huge hole opened for a cutback and running 30 yards to the Miami 11.

-- At that point, only 3:05 remained after Miami called its first timeout.

-- The 49ers didn't make it easy on Gould to kick what essentially would be a game-clinching field goal, losing 3 yards on a run, 8 yards on a sack by Chubb and 10 yards on a holding penalty on Kittle, but Gould came through anyway with a 48-yard kick that made it 26-17 with 2:03 left.

-- Out of timeouts and needing two scores, the Dolphins faced a practically insurmountable challenge and any thought of a miraculous comeback ended on the first play of the next drive when Bosa beat Brandon Shell with an inside move and knocked the ball away from Tua as he was ready to unleash what appeared to be a deep throw. Greenlaw picked up the loose ball and ran it in from 23 yards out for the final touchdown of the game.

-- Skylar Thompson comes in to replace Tua on the next drive, not that the Dolphins have any kind of chance. But Tua has gotten bent backward twice already and there's no sense having him in there in a lost cause. 

-- There's also no sense in fretting about Thompson throwing a pick downfield when he needs to try to make something, anything happen really fast.

-- It's kneel-down time for the 49ers after the pick, and with that the Dolphins' winning streak is over at five games. This was a rough game all around for Miami, but not one that should cause panic either considering the team's record is still a very good 8-4 after the 33-17 loss.

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