Surprise, surprise, surprise.

There were things that made you rub your eyes all game Sunday in the Dolphins’ 34-10 win against Atlanta.

Here are 10 thoughts on their best day of a struggling season:

1. Everyone agreed Sunday was a lopsided matchup between the Dolphins’ league-worst rushing defense (159.3 yards allowed) against Atlanta’s fourth-ranked rushing offense (136.3 yards). It played out lopsided, too, in a manner no one expected.  Atlanta had nine carries for 11 yards in the first half when the game was effectively settled. It had 31 yards on 15 carries for the game. Bijan Robinson was expected to have a big day, considering he entered averaging 5.4 yards a carry. He had nine carries for 28 yards, a 2.8-yard average Sunday. Anthony Weaver’s defense hasn’t stopped opposing backs or continuous questions this year, but it made a stand on Sunday.

2. Call it the Visor Game. Tua Tagovailoa played with a visor for the first time as a pro, probably because of a swollen eye that might’ve been caused by an illness the team reported him to have Sunday morning. After the worst game of his career in Cleveland, what could all this mean? Whatever, it worked. Tua had his best game in completing 20 of 26 passes for four touchowns. He didn’t start especially strong with three completions in seven passes, he completed 17 of his next 19. Of course, this was a game where he was immeasurably helped by ….

3. Quote of the day: “We can’t stop the run,” Atlanta coach Raheem Morris said to CBS at halftime. Who expected to hear that? The Dolphins entered Sunday with the 28th-ranked rushing attack. McDaniel often sets the running game on the side of the road at games. Not Sunday. McDaniel kept running the ball to set the tone as the Dolphins finished with 141 rushing yards on 37 carries. On their first touchdown drive that went 13 plays and 79 yards, they had nine rushes and four passes. They had 66 yards on 14 carries (4.1 a carry) at half that led Morris to say they had to stop the run. It wasn’t all De’Von Achane, either, though he had 18 carries for 67 yards. Jaylen Wright, who didn’t have a carry this year, had nine for 28 yards Sunday. And …

4. A big, power back? How long have the Dolphins needed one? Well, Ollie Gordon provided that idea on Sunday with a 10-carry, 46-yard day. On that opening touchdown drive, he converted three short-yardage first downs — a third-and-2, third-and-1 and fourth-and-1 (the drive ended with Tua’s 3-yard pass to Achane for a 7-0 lead). Late in the first half, on third-and-3, Gordon bounced from the middle to run for 11 yards to keep alive a field goal drive. He was a power back in an offense that’s needed one.

5. Atlanta started quarterback Kirk Cousins in place of Michael Penix (knee), but let’s not overdo that. The Dolphins have faced backup running backs, tackles, receivers — everything this year and they’ve had big days. Why not Cousins? He completed 21 of 31 passes for 173 yards, but that doesn’t tell how dominant the Dolphins were. Atlanta didn’t score its touchdown until 5:01 left in the game. It had 11 first downs (to the Dolphins’ 24) and was 2 of 11 on third-down conversions (the Dolphins were 6 of 13).

6. Player of the game: Linebacker Jordyn Brooks. Dolphins linebackers have made a lot of tackles this season, but too many are after good gains. Here’s where Brooks’ six tackles of the first half were made in relation to the line of scrimmage: minus-1 yard, 2 yards, minus-3 yards, 3 yards, 4 yards and a minus-5 yard sack. Want to know how Atlanta had three points and was 0 for 5 on third downs at half? Brooks finished with 10 tacles.

7. Stat of game: Their 17 first-half points were three shy of the 20 first-half points they had totaled in the first six games.

8. “No. 64 reports as eligible,” was a regular line from the referee before plays. One question was how the Dolphins would replace injured tight end Julian Hill’s blocking (another was how they’d replace Darren Waller’s receiving). To replace Hill, they brought guard Daniel Brunskill in a sixth offensive linemen. That gave more power to the running game.

9. Quick Hits:

For the second straight game, a backup quarterback finished for the Dolphins. It was Zach Wilson in a blowout win this time, though.

After not playing a snap last week, rookie Dante Trader broke up what would’ve been a nice Atlanta completion in third quarter.

Someone cue the Kevin Harlan factor, considering the CBS announcer’s link to good times. But even he didn’t expect this. “What is going on here?” he said as Waddle ran into the end zone with a third-quarter TD to make it 24-3.

Robinson’s knee caused a fumble without any Dolphins touching him, as if to tell what kind of a day it was for both teams.

10. Next week: Baltimore at Dolphins. The dreaded short week for a Thursday night game at Hard Rock Stadium. It’s not as dreaded as it once was as Baltimore entered Sunday’s game against Chicago at 1-5. Lamar Jackson didn’t start Sunday, but was limited in practice last week suggesting he’d be ready for Thursday after missing a few weeks with injury. The real problem for Baltimore is its 32nd-ranked defense.

Originally Published: October 26, 2025 at 4:08 PM EDT