Around the state: Dolphins win, others lose

Published Dec. 18, 2012 10:36 a.m. ET

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Losers of back-to-back games and five of six, the Miami Dolphins received some internal medicine.
Internal as in “within the Sunshine State.”
Miami defeated former Dolphins quarterback Chad Henne and the Jacksonville Jaguars 24-3 at Sun Life Stadium on Sunday.
Dolphins rookie quarterback Ryan Tannehill led the way by throwing for two touchdowns with no interceptions and a season-high passer rating of 123.2.
The victory kept alive the faintest of playoff hopes for the Dolphins (6-8). The Jaguars (2-12) remained tied with Kansas City in the race for the No. 1 overall pick in next year’s draft.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers dropped their fourth consecutive game, a 41-0 rout by the Saints in New Orleans. 
Even if the Bucs (6-8) win their last two games to finish .500, tiebreakers will prevent them from reaching the playoffs.
Here’s a more in-depth look at Week 15 around the state:

Dolphins 24, Jaguars 3: Henne received a lot of pregame attention being the former Dolphins quarterback heading back to Miami, but it was Tannehill who sparkled during the game.
Tannehill completed 22-for-28 passes for 220 yards and he ran eight times for 52 yards. Reggie Bush rushed for 104 yards, including a 53-yard jaunt, on 21 carries — the most since carrying 25 times at Oakland on Sept. 16.
With the score tied at 3, Henne threw a 20-yard scoring pass to Justin Blackmon, but the play was nullified because Guy Whimper had entered the game as a third tackle — as he had done five times earlier — without reporting as an eligible receiver.
Henne finished 18-of-34 passing for 221 yards.
With Miami leading 10-3 at halftime, Tannehill decided to discard a left knee brace that he had worn since getting hurt against the New York Jets in Week 8.
He began the second half by directing four clock-eating possessions of 76, 60, 64 and 85 yards. Jacksonville had the ball for just 14 minutes in the final three quarters. 
Brian Hartline had five catches for 77 yards to surpass the 1,000-yard mark for the season.
The Jaguars committed 10 penalties for 88 yards (Miami was 5-41) and failed to convert two fourth-and-1 situations. Game gallery »
Saints 41, Buccaneers 0: One week after being shut out in the first half by a Philadelphia Eagles defense which had given up the seventh-most points in the NFL, Tampa Bay fell behind 24-0 to a defense that had given up the third-most points.
The Buccaneers offense produced 386 yards, but that number is deceiving.
Quarterback Josh Freeman had one of his worst outings this season, completing 26 of 47 for 279 yards with four interceptions. He also lost a fumble.
Meanwhile, rookie running sensation Doug Martin rushed for only 16 yards on nine carries. 
Trailing 10-0, Tampa Bay squandered a chance to draw closer when Freeman threw a pick in the red zone. That helped set up Drew Brees' second touchdown pass, a 2-yarder to Darren Sproles.
Frustration seemed to boil over on the Bucs sideline, when linebacker Adam Hayward shoved assistant coach Bryan Cox, who was shouting to another Tampa Bay player on the field.
Tampa Bay could finish 8-8 overall, but a 5-7 conference record would fall short in all possible tiebreaker scenarios. Game gallery »

Tannehill, Dolphins
Tannehill had been struggling during Miami’s slide after showing promise early in the season. He made the most of going against the league’s next-to-worst defense.
It was the third consecutive game he did not throw an interception.

Freeman, Buccaneers
A month ago Freeman was one directing one of the NFL's best offenses. There was a six-game streak, in which the Bucs went 5-1, where he threw for 1,700 yards and 16 touchdowns.
But during the past four weeks, he’s reminding people of the 2011 Josh Freeman and has raised questions whether he has a long-term future in Tampa.

Dolphins QB Tannehill on discarding a left knee brace at halftime: “I wore it in the first half. I slid, got it caught in the ground and bent, so I took it off at halftime. It’s there for a reason; it’s preventative in case you get rolled up on, but it definitely felt good to move around a little bit without it.”
Miami receiver Hartline on what Tannehill told him about playing without the knee brace: “He said something along the lines of, ‘Wow, without this brace, I feel like a Clydesdale out here.' I said, ‘A Clydesdale usually doesn’t move very good.’ Regardless, he’s feeling good, and it shows.”
Dolphins offensive coordinator Mike Sherman on Tannehill’s performance: “(It) was a good indication of what he’s capable of doing. Made great decisions. Was very accurate. He’s had some very good games. He shows a lot of promise.
Jacksonville safety Dwight Lowery on his team’s latest loss: “It’s unacceptable. Unacceptable as an organization. Unacceptable for our fans. Just unacceptable, period.”
Jaguars coach Mike Mularkey: “Every time we take a step forward, we take two steps back, and that cost us today and was critical.”
Jacksonville OT Whimper, whose failure to check in as a third tackle cost the Jags a touchdown: “I ran onto the field rubbing my (jersey) and they acknowledged me as reporting. (Referee John Parry) was looking right at me.”
Mularkey on the Whimper penalty call: "He reported to the offense a hundred times this year, and 400 times in practice. Today, for some reason, I was told he didn't report. He said he reported, but the official has to confirm it."
Tampa Bay coach Greg Schiano after the 41-0 blowout loss: "This is unacceptable. I know that. It's my name, the organization's name. We don't do that, so we've got to get it right."
Schiano on the apparent sideline altercation between LB Hayward and defensive front-seven coach Cox: "I'm aware of it. I'm not happy about it but I do know that it's been resolved. I think you chalk it up to heat of the moment. Guys are very passionate. Adam is a passionate player; coach Cox is a passionate coach. I know they're very close.
Bucs guard Jeremy Zuttah on close friend Freeman’s role in the ineffective offense: “It’s not all on Josh. It’s on the offensive line, too. He’s getting hit a lot. We have to do a better job as a team. As the quarterback, obviously a lot of times people are going to point at him, but it’s a whole offensive effort. We’ve been off as an offense.”
Buccaneers QB Freeman on his performance: "I know I'm the quarterback and the offensive captain of this football team. I take responsibility for what happened out there today. It all starts with me: Getting the play in, calling the play and executing the play. And I've got to play a whole lot better to give our team a chance to win."

• Miami is 5-1 when Tannehill completes at least 60 percent of his passes.
• Tannehill has thrown 111 consecutive passes without an interception, besting a streak of 107 he had earlier this season.
• The Dolphins have forced just one turnover in last seven games and have just 12 takeaways on the season. The team season mark for fewest takeaways is 19.
• Jacksonville lost by 10 or more points for a team-record seventh time.
• Jags receiver Cecil Shorts has 49 catches for 925 yards. He’s trying to become the team’s first 1,000-yard receiver since Jimmy Smith in 2005.
• The Jaguars had one sack (by Tyson Alualu), meaning they still haven’t had more than two in a game this year. 
• Jacksonville is surrendering an average of 160.6 rushing yards the last seven weeks and have lost six of those games.
• Until Sunday's 41-0 loss, each of Tampa Bay’s previous seven losses were by eight points or fewer.
• The Bucs are on pace to become the worst pass defense in NFL history. They’re allowing 310.6 yards per game and on pace to give up 4,970 — that would break the mark of 4,796 yards set last season by the Green Bay Packers.
• The Bucs committed five turnovers, which New Orleans converted into 27 points.
•Tampa Bay was shut out for the first time since losing 24-0 to the New York Giants in 2009.

Buffalo at Miami, Sunday at 1 p.m. ET (Dolphins favored by 4½): The Bills (5-9) won the season’s first meeting between the AFC East rivals, 19-14 at Buffalo on Nov. 15. The Bills have lost three of four since then and six of eight overall.
Coach Chan Gailey could be headed to the unemployment line after the season. Sunday’s 50-17 loss to Seattle dropped Gailey’s three-year record to 15-31.
One Buffalo bright spot: C.J. Spiller has run for 1,047 yards on 161 carries, the second-fewest number needed to reach the 1,000-yard milestone. Chicago Bears running back Beattie Feathers needed 119 carries to become the NFL’s first 1,000-yard rusher in 1934.
New England at Jacksonville, Sunday at 1 p.m. ET (Patriots favored by 14½): As if the Jaguars needed more bad news: The Patriots (10-4) are coming off a home Sunday night loss to San Francisco.
New England had won seven in a row and were a riding a 21-game winning streak in the second half of the regular season. The Pats figure to start a new streak this week. 
The early line is the most Jacksonville has been a home underdog since Green Bay was favored by 11 points in the Jags’ 1995 expansion season.

St. Louis at Tampa Bay, Sunday at 1 p.m. ET (Bucs favored by 3): The Buccaneers, who ended last season with 10 consecutive losses, will be trying to snap a four-game losing string.
Although not yet officially eliminated, the Rams (6-7-1) likely will fail to reach the playoffs for an eighth consecutive season. Only Cleveland (2002), Oakland (2002) and Buffalo (1999) have longer postseason droughts.
St. Louis is trying to finish above .500 for the first time since 2003.

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