Ten thoughts after the Dolphins 28-25 win against the Bills

The Dolphins pulled off an impressive home victory against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. Here are ten thoughts on them and on the NFL to follow up on the game:

1. The Dolphins also turned in a very good game last week in a big win against the Steelers. But how much of it was a miserable performance by the Pittsburgh? The Steelers looked like they were moving in slow motion in what was a very sloppy game for them. It seems likely that the Steelers took that game too lightly and they got caught looking forward towards their next game against the New England Patriots this week.

The last time the Steelers were badly beaten this season was 34-3 by Philadelphia. The Eagles had lost their last two contests since coming into today’s game.

The Bills were generally accepted to be a foe who is less likely to let down this week. They’d won four in a row after an 0-2 start. But it’s worth remembering that the last three wins came come against quarterbacks Jacoby Brissett (New England), Case Keenum (Rams) and Colin Kaepernick (49ers) at quarterback.

Having said that, this game was pivotal in proving the Dolphins hopes that they actually found a formula for consistently competing effectively or, on the other hand, proving that they are still the AFC East doormats. Happily they repeated their performance against Pittsburgh, effectively proving that they may, indeed, be more competitive than their performances earlier in the season may have indicated.

This game goes a long way towards convincing fans and media that the team is for real.

2. What's particularly impressive was the way that the Dolphins dominated the line of scrimmage. As always Jay Ajayi ran extremely hard 28 times for 214 yards and an impressive 7.4 yards per carry. Though Jermon Bushrod, Ja'Wuan James, Branden Albert and Laremy Tunsil all had some occasional struggles in protection, the offensive line generally dominated the line of scrimmage.  

The nice job that the Dolphins did running the ball resulted in a large difference in time of possession (37:02 - 22:58), giving the defense a break that kept them fresh to hold up their end of this bargain. On the other hand, the Buffalo defense wore down a bit as the game moved on and as the Dolphins offensive line continually pushed them around.

Perhaps what was most surprising to me was that, despite another 200 yard effort from Ajayi last week, the Bills didn't appear to respect the Miami running game at the start of the contest, sometimes keeping the box light, perhaps not wanting to expose their defensive backs. Whatever the reason, it worked in the Dolphins favor as this aspect of the game was impressive.

3. The defensive front seven looked very good this game as the defense did a wonderful job of stopping the run. The linebackers looked aggressive and were generally playing downhill and the defensive linemen were penetrating to stop the run. At 34 years young, Cameron Wake is everything he's been in the past and looked particularly good getting pressure on Tyrod Taylor with 1.5 sacks on the game. Ndamukong Suh also came alive in the second half despite (as usual) seeing consistent double teams. A nice effort all around.

There's no doubt about it. The Dolphins are running the ball and stopping the run. There's not a better formula for success.

4. Marcus Mariota ran wild on the Dolphins when the Titans played Miami earlier in the month, losing 30-17. Mariota had 60 yards rushing on seven carries.

So the Dolphins knew that stopping mobile quarterback Tyrod Taylor had to be a priority. Taylor had 236 rushing yards and 6.9 yards per attempt coming into Sunday's game. He also throws very well on the run and he looked good when Buffalo rolled him out, something they did frequently Sunday.  

The Dolphins knew going in that they needed to rush the passer with discipline to contain Taylor without flushing him from the pocket.

"He's popped on a bunch of third-and-longs, and he's run for first downs," defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said. "We can't have that. It's too hard to get into third down with this team."

So it was nice to see the Dolphins do at least a decent job of keeping Taylor in the pocket today.  Taylor was limited to 35 yards and much of that came on a planned run into the end zone in the second quarter. That needs to continue to carry over as the Dolphins progress during the season.

5. It was a rough start to this game for special teams after allowing a 35 yard punt return that set up the Bills first field goal. That was followed by a blocked punt.

Combined with some rough moments in the form of blocked field goals leading up to this game, the special teams will be an area that Dolphins fans should look to for some improvement in the coming weeks.

6. This game wouldn't have been close had the Dolphins not continually shot themselves in the foot with penalties, especially early in the game. In all they had an inexcusable 13 for 116 yards including seven in the first quarter. That also has to be cleaned up.

7. Bills head coach Rex Ryan was relatively tame in his comments on Ex-Bills pass rusher and current Dolphins defensive end Mario Williams this week, obviously not trying to rile Williams up.

"Mario has been an outstanding player in this league for a long time. I don't think I've said anything critical about Mario ever. In fact, I would take you to task on it. He might have felt differently here, but that's OK. If he's motivated to play well against us, I would expect him to. You're playing a divisional game, and I expect him to be very motivated, just like we'll be."

Something tells me Williams was motivated very well. Ryan wasn't quite so complimentary in an interview with Sports Illustrated earlier this summer after Williams blamed his poor play with the Bills on being asked to drop into coverage as a linebacker.

"He's a good kid, but I am used to some mean [expletive] that play out there. The Terrell Suggs, Jarrett Johnsons of the world. I screwed them, too? I had them drop [into coverage], too. Not one of them bitched," Ryan said. "Von Miller [dropped into coverage] in the Super Bowl. Why? Because that's what's asked of him; that's what his job is. Your job is to play. Coaches spend a hell of a lot more time studying tape and everything else. They are trying to put the team in the best position to be successful, not an individual."

Anyone who has read anything that I have written about Williams knows that I agree with Ryan. However, that may be, if Williams was ever going to perform as a Dolphin, it was going to be this week when playing his old team. To his credit, Williams did make an impact, having a sack and occasionally getting some good pressure on Taylor in the second half.  We will see how far that carries over into the future as well.

8. Of interest was whether Dolphins kicker Andrew Franks improved his technique this week. Special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi said that Franks, who has had two field goals blocked this season (24 and 27 yards) and also missed from 50 yards, has had some things to work on.

“We believe a lot in our guy. He knows he’s got to make those shorter field goals and fix the problem and elevate the ball more on those shorter field goals. He’s got to get that corrected. The two field goal blocks we had this year were not the protection.”

Franks has a tremendous leg and there's no reason for him to have to drive the ball low through the uprights even from relatively long distances. To my eye he did better this game and did not have a kick blocked as a result.

9. Also of interest was the situation of Bills running back LeSean McCoy. On Thursday, ESPN's Josina Anderson reported that McCoy wouldn't play on Sunday. However, McCoy's agent, Drew Rosenhaus disputed the report saying that McCoy would be a game time decision.

His contention seemed to be born out as McCoy practiced on a limited basis on Friday, indicating at least some possibility that he would be ready by Sunday. In the end McCoy played though he was not particularly effective carrying the ball eight times for only 11 yards before leaving in the third quarter with the bad hamstring.

The situation is a good example of the poor state of sports journalism, particularly as it relates to the NFL.  More and more, reporters care about being first over getting the report right and the advent of Twitter, where such reports can be made instantly available with no time for second thoughts or correction, has only made the situation worse.

More and more, the average football fan in search of good concrete information finds him - or herself abandoning national sources of TV and Internet news in favor of local newspaper reporting where at least some integrity appears to have been maintained. For now.

10. The Minnesota Vikings, who entered Sunday's games as the league's only undefeated team, are the talk of the league. Minnesota has a wonderful, aggressive defense and it has the capability to continue to carry the team far this year. They have an excellent coaching staff and head coach Mike Zimmer is proving to be one of the best in the league.

But the Vikings have a problem and it’s the same one that exposed them last year whenever they played any team outside of the NFC North that was any good. Their offensive line continues to stink despite moves in the offseason to bring it up to standard. That continued on Sunday in an awful 21-10 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles with one of the worst offensive performances I've seen all year by a team with a healthy starting quarterback.

Tackle Andre Smith was acquired in the offseason and it was hoped that he would stabilize the right side of the line. He was put on injured reserve two weeks ago after underperforming for the first four weeks. Left tackle T.J. Clemmings has struggled and he has now moved back to the right side to replace Smith.

Dolphins fans will be familiar with former first round pick Jake Long, who the Vikings have desperately signed to help fill the hole on the other side.  In all, six weeks into the season Joe Berger is the only one of the Vikings' five opening day starters not to miss time because of injury.

The Vikings had amongst the easiest schedules in the league entering the season and the guess here is that they will continue to win despite their travails on the offensive line. But last year, the Vikings were sunk in the playoffs by poor line performance once the played a really good team in the Arizona Cardinals. The guess here is that they are already well on their way to something similar no matter what their record will be.

10a. I took note of a recent story in the New York Post where former Giants head coach Tom Coughlin said that he still thought he could be a head coach.

“Well, we’ll see about that,” Coughlin said when asked if he’s still seeking a coaching job. “One day at a time. I hope I can make an impact in the job that I’m in. That’s why I’m in that position (NFL’s senior advisor to football operations)."

Like brilliant 79 year old Titans defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau, I think Coughlin could make a pretty good offensive coordinator.  But at 70 years old, I can't see another team hiring him as a head coach.

10b. Former Texans linebacker DeMeco Ryans is suing the Texans and the NFL for making him play on a poor field in Houston that led to a ruptured Achilles tendon in 2014. Jadeveon Clowney told teammates that his early season knee injury that year, which required arthroscopic surgery, came after he landed on a "hole" in the turf. After Kansas City complained about the turf, the Texans abruptly abandoned their grass-based field system after only one home game last year.

Personally I doubt that this lawsuit has much of a chance but it will be interesting to follow it. If it's successful, it could open a Pandora's box for the NFL as a whole. There are a lot of poor fields around the league, most notably in Pittsburgh and in Chicago, especially late in the season when it virtually impossible to grow grass. Players are split as to whether the grass is better than turf in such locations but there's no denying that the field is a danger to the players.

The NFL could be dealing with a lot of trouble if the suit actually succeeds. Stay tuned.

10c. The Super Bowl runners up Carolina Panthers have crashed down to earth this season as they have started the year at 1-5 going into their bye on Sunday. If you are wondering how this happened, the lack of a pass rush is a huge reason for their problems.

Carolina has 11 sacks through five games after posting 44 in the 2015 regular season. Reserve safety, Tre Boston, leads the team in sacks with two. Reserve defensive tackle Kyle Love – who wasn’t even on the team until recently – is second at 1.5. Particularly problematic are Kony Ealy and Charles Johnson who both have zero sacks.

In order to make up for the deficit, Carolina has had to blitz frequently, exposing a young secondary that is without Josh Norman, who left for the Redskins in free agency.

With things not going Carolina's way, you have to wonder if and when its going to have an effect on quarterback Cam Newton. Newton's attitude after the Super Bowl loss last season wasn’t an aberration. Former Carolina wide receiver Steve Smith had to spend some time with Newton early in his career telling him to stop sulking on the bench every time the team struggled. He appear to have not adjusted his attitude since and it will be an interesting situation to monitor.

10d. Next up for the Dolphins are the New York Jets who came away with a 24-16 victory over the Baltimore Ravens Sunday. The Jets have struggled with quarterback problems as Ryan Fitzpatrick has under-performed since re-signing with the team late in the offseason. He was replaced by Geno Smith as the starter, who subsequently injured his knee in the second quarter and left the game.

Fitzpatrick had a decent game and provided a spark in the win.  But whoever starts, there’s no getting around the fact that this is a struggling team that the Dolphins can take advantage of at home next week to get back to 0.500 for the season.

This column was written by Tom Shannon. Follow him on Twitter: @bearingthenews