Miami Dolphins Use a Bolt to Keep Surging

By Tyson Sweet @The12thDude on November 2, 2014

A bolt from the San Diego Chargers, that is. The Miami Dolphins sacked Philip Rivers on the first offensive snap of the game, and they never let up — not for one second. By the time the game was over, the Chargers had been obliterated by the Dolphins 37-0.

Rivers was an MVP favorite during the first half of the season, but he was anything but that against a Dolphins’ defense that forced a fumble and intercepted three passes by Rivers — two of which came from star cornerback Brent Grimes, who now has three interceptions of his own in the last two weeks.

It was Ryan Tannehill who played like an MVP candidate. The third-year quarterback orchestrated the offense masterfully on his way to a performance that generated 288 passing yards and three touchdowns, plus an additional 47 yards on the ground, despite not even playing for the entire fourth quarter. Tannehill is already in his third offensive system since he was drafted in 2012, but it is most certainly working in his benefit.

Tannehill’s play today actually reminded me a lot of the Seattle Seahawks’ Russell Wilson, which bodes very well for the Fins, but not so much for the rest of the AFC East. Miami has become a legitimate threat to take the division, especially considering that they already have a Week 1 victory over the New England Patriots — a plus-one, if you will.

Tannehill and Grimes may very well be the stars of the game, but the Bolts’ beat-down was a complete team effort. The Dolphins dominated every phase of the game on both sides of the ball, from the beginning until the very end. Miami has some tough games ahead, starting with the Detroit Lions next week, but there is no reason to think that they can’t compete with any of them. The Fins are for real.

The same cannot be said for the Chargers, however. San Diego got off to a hot start, even earning some to praise them as legitimate Super Bowl contenders. Now they have lost three straight games, and I can’t imagine many people will be talking about Chargers’ football, at least not in a good way, after getting smacked up and down the field.

Despite the current free fall, that Bolts have a chance to get off the losing streak next week when they host the 0-7 Oakland Raiders, who will very likely be 0-8 by the end of the day (being that I am a diehard 12th man, I certainly hope that is the case), and then they follow that up with a Week 11 matchup against the St. Louis Rams. Coach Mike McCoy needs to figure out how to right the ship, because San Diego is a talented team that is still in good position for the wild card. The next two weeks should help.

It will be a long flight back home for the Chargers, but the Dolphins have to be thrilled with the direction they are heading.

Tyson Sweet is a sports writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @The12thDude, like him on Facebook, or add him to your network on Google!