Pre-district Football Pairings

In this Dolphins Deep Dive video, the South Florida Sun Sentinel’s Chris Perkins and David Furones discuss Miami’s win in Cleveland to keep it in the playoff picture, Tyler Huntley’s play and Tua Tagovailoa’s injury and what coach Mike McDaniel said about it after the game. (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=40bacbdb-084a-4980-bafa-92da3b5cd8f1&cid=38d5daa3-18ac-4ee1-a905-373c67622f25'; cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "40bacbdb-084a-4980-bafa-92da3b5cd8f1" , mediaId: "e00fac97-d146-4787-93f6-14d9c21f08cd" }).render("b4e16dbb25bd4d6db4df845497ae6829"); });

It wasn’t always pretty, but what do you expect against Cleveland? The Dolphins got the needed result with a 20-3 win over the Browns. That pulled them to 8-8 on the year, their first time at .500 since the second game of the year. Here are 10 thoughts on the win: 1. Player of the game: Tyler Huntley.

CLEVELAND — The Miami Dolphins entered Sunday’s game at Cleveland needing to win both of their remaining games and needing Denver to lose next week at Kansas City. They took care of one part of that equation by defeating the Browns, 20-3, on Sunday. Now, the Dolphins (8-8) could have chance to earn their third consecutive playoff berth next week at the New York Jets (4-12). Quarterback Tyler “Snoop” Huntley, the Hallandale High School alum, led the way Sunday at Cleveland with a passing and rushing touchdown and rookie left tackle Patrick Paul played the second half, much of it against Cleveland defensive end Myles Garrett, the youngest in NFL history to record 100 sacks. The Dolphins also reached .500 for the first time since falling to 1-1 earlier this season. Here are some more takeaways from Sunday: Dolphins get impressive win Sunday’s win at Cleveland, a game the Dolphins needed to win to keep their playoff hopes alive, was one of the most impressive victories of the coach Mike McDaniel era considering quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (hip) missed the entire game and left tackle Terron Armstead (knee) missed the second half. The Dolphins, who have always had a string fighting spirit, showed a lot of grit. No, it wasn’t pretty — Miami lost two challenges in three plays in the third quarter — but the Dolphins gutted out the victory behind Huntley and Paul. The Dolphins also put themselves in position to have their fifth consecutive winning season and third consecutive playoff berth.

There’s no need to talk about the Miami Dolphins win Sunday for very long, if at all, because the only thing it did was move this season to next Sunday where it will have another chance to advance to the playoffs. That means there’s still a flickering chance to change the uncomfortable feel to this season.

CLEVELAND — The Miami Dolphins will go into the final week of the regular season still in playoff contention. Quarterback Tyler “Snoop” Huntley filled in admirably for the injured Tua Tagovailoa, the defense suffocated a struggling Cleveland Browns offense, and the Dolphins pulled out a penalty-filled, grind-it-out 20-3 win Sunday evening at Huntington Bank Field. Miami (8-8) needs to win its finale against the New York Jets (4-12) and have the Denver Broncos lose next week to the Kansas City Chiefs. “For the first time in my life, I’m about to be a big Chiefs fan for at least a week, a huge Chiefs fan,” said defensive tackle Calais Campbell, the 38-year-old who had conversations with the Dolphins front office recently about getting waived to go to a playoff team but will now have a shot at the postseason with Miami. “It might not happen.

Quick thoughts from South Florida Sun Sentinel staffers on the Miami Dolphins’ 20-3 win over the Cleveland Browns at Huntington Bank Field on Sunday: Chris Perkins, Dolphins Columnist Quarterback Tyler “Snoop” Huntley did the job with his arm and legs, and wide receiver Tyreek Hill came alive as the Dolphins (8-8) recorded one of his best recent games.