0:46 seconds left in the 1st half 3rd and 19 Jamar Taylor bites on a stop & go allowing Emmanuel Sanders to get the 1st down. This was a critical mistake in the game. https://vine.co/v/O1tvrutrbOi
That play hurts the most because you knew the game was over. Even Phil Simms said "This could be a major play in this game".
I'm not sure we can say with any certainty that the pass wouldn't have been completed had he not bitten on the fake. Certainly Peyton Manning and company complete passes all the time in the absence of such glaring mistakes by defenders.
I agree with this. That was a well placed ball with an amazing catch. Even with good coverage that pass could have been completed.
The tendency in games like these is to try to zero in on one or just a few plays and attribute the loss to them, whereas the bigger picture perspective is always more accurate in my opinion. The big picture is that Peyton Manning was coming off an embarrassment to the Rams, was playing at home, and was probably trying to restore the perception of him and his team as among the league's best, while getting them back on track for a playoff run. Under those circumstances it was going to be incredibly difficult for the Dolphins to go in there and win. While the game certainly seemed winnable based on its first three quarters, when Denver bore down and played at their highest level of intensity (at the ends of both halves), backed by their home crowd, the Dolphins were no match for them. Manning was simply not going to let his team lose two games in a row to two teams over which his team was favored, the second of which was at home. There were two points in the game when Denver seemingly realized it would probably lose the game if it didn't bear down and play its best -- at the ends of both halves -- and at those times they crushed the Dolphins seemingly very easily. In other words, when Denver was most driven and played at their emotional maximum, the Dolphins appeared to be handled without much effort. They simply had no answer at those times.
There were enough mistakes to not just single out one but if I were going to this would be it. Giving up that 3rd and 19 was just unforgivable, you just can't do it. We gave them momentum going into half time and it killed us. I do think letting them score like that at the end of the half was such a big swing that it cost us the game.
The defense had a bad game against possibly the greatest quarterback of all time. We are miles better than that defensively and I say let's forget the Denver game and focus on crushing the Jets.
He's a young guy starting for the first time, mistakes are to be expected. I can't name a single defender who had a good game last week, like Rocky said chalk it up and move on.
Taylor is still a pup, he will learn. I wonder if any of his teammates/coaches were in his ear about it pre-snap.
Taylor's gaff against Sanders was no worse than allowing Demaryius Thomas to run uncovered and score an easy 14 yard TD with 16 seconds before the half... and Wilson had already given them another 1st down on 3rd and 5 with a horsecollar tackle. Just a bevy of errors on that drive.
Peyton followed up the previous play really quickly so doubt there was time. A lot to take in, but seems like it shd have been pretty high up in his mental checklist; "Keep receiver in front of the sticks."
i still believe they should have reviewed that catch, although he had his hand under it when he fell on the ground, the ball was clearly moving and when his momentum carried him over on his back he is using his off hand than to grab it again [video=youtube_share;GcY-u21OIaE]http://youtu.be/GcY-u21OIaE[/video]
It was a well placed ball because he was running all alone. Put tight coverage up against the sideline and it's not the same throw likely. And R Jones horrible effort on the TD is inexcusable.
This. Our amazing DL just got whipped. Either they were all hung-over or Denver's maligned OL managed to play a great game.
I agree, Manning passed the ball to Sanders because he was wide open. Yet we have no way of knowing if Sanders had been covered, there just might have been another Broncos WR who was open on the other side of the field for a long pass completion. I think it is too easy to blame Taylor for this loss. The fact is that even after that pass, the defense failed to limit the Broncos to a FG attempt with only seconds to play in the first half. It certainly wasn't Taylor's fault that no one covered the Broncos WR in the end zone. It also wasn't the fault of Taylor that the Dolphins defense couldn't come up with enough defensive stops in the second half or that the ball bounced off the hands of Landry and was intercepted by the Broncos when the Dolphins still had a chance to drive the length of the field and go ahead of the Broncos again. The better teams in the league overcome a single play like Taylor made. While the Dolphins might be an improved team this year, the losses to the better teams on their schedule. Lions, Packers, Broncos in the closing minutes of the 4th quarter, clearly shows that while they may be improved, they are not yet in the class of the better teams in the NFL.