The Packers came away with a 30-17 victory over the Dolphins on Thanksgiving night, and while the scoring and the efficiency level from Jordan Love–as well as timely and impressive runs from backs Emmanuel Wilson and Chris Brooks–were certainly among the storylines, it was the Packers’ defense that really stole the show.
Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa wound up with big numbers (37-for-46 passing for 365 yards) but he was sacked five times and, in reality, played right into the Packers’ hands. Green Bay’s defense focused on shutting down the run game (39 yards on 14 carries) while making sure to eliminate the Dolphins’ penchant for big pass plays to Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle.
The Packers gave up one big play to Hill, a short catch he turned into a 30-yard gain, but that came with four minutes to go in an already decided game. That was the limit of Miami’s long-yardage plays. In the end, that marked the Packers’ plan all along — make Tagovailoa into a dink-and-dunk quarterback.
In his 46 attempts, Tagovailoa threw only two passes of longer than 20 yards, and both were incomplete.
“He gets confused a little bit and just checks it down,” linebacker Isaiah McDuffie said of Tagovailoa, via The Athletic, “and our hook players come down and try to smash the carrier.”
Tua Tagovailoa Not Using Cold as Excuse
Coming into the game, one of the narratives around the Dolphins was the team’s ability to handle cold weather. Miami had won three straight games since Tagovailoa’s return from a concussion problem earlier this season, but the Packers’ defense was too much for the Dolphins, who did themselves no favors with pre-snap penalties in the first half.
“I wouldn’t say any of the things that were out there as far the elements are going to be used as an excuse for the reason as to why we started slow,” Tagovailoa said.
He added that the Packers’ ability to make the Dolphins a one-dimensional team, taking away the run game, was the real reason they struggled.
“I think it makes it challenging for any offense to go out there and not sort of be one-dimensional, but to mix in runs and then mix in play passes with those runs,” Tagovailoa said. “Obviously tonight we were a little more pass heavy, but it does make it tougher, but sometimes that is what the game asks of you, especially when you are playing catch-up from behind.”
Packers Defense Finding Groove
Meanwhile, the defense of new coordinator Jeff Hafley continues to earn praise as the season goes on. There were certainly rough spots in the early going, but the team has not allowed an opponent to break 20 points in the last three weeks, during which the D is allowing just 15.3 points per game.
One reason for the improvement is star safety Xavier McKinney. He praised the Packers gameplan against Tagovailoa after the win, too.
“A lot of the stuff is dink and dunk, but you not going to beat us doing that,” McKinney said. “You can do that all day, but at the end of the day, we got a really good offense that’s going to put up points and eventually you going to have to take a shot down the field.”
