The Good

The first half was perfection. The Dolphins scored 30 points and allowed 0 points. This was the expected performance by a team contending for the playoffs versus the team with the worst record in the league.

The passing game was gaining yards at will. The Texans did slow down the run a bit, despite being one of the worst run defenses in the league. Hill and Waddle did their thing, catches passes in that 10-19 yard zone they have been attacking all season.

On defense, turnovers were produced. An interception by Andrew Van Ginkel and a forced fumble by Eric Rowe on a vicious hit that was scooped up by X for a touchdown.

The first half couldn't have gone any better.

Overall, the defense allowed 210 total yards, 14 first downs, 2 of 13 on third down, forced three turnovers and sacked the QB 5 times.

The Bad

In the second half, the Dolphins were outscored 15-0 by a hapless Texans team. The offensive line fell apart after Terron Armstead went down. Austin Jackson went out with an injury late after having a solid game. So the bad news here is the offensive line that was starting to look like a strength, is now a MASH unit. That could have a huge impact on the rest of the season.

The Ugly

Tua got sacked 3 times in a row when the game was well in hand. He probably should have been taken out earlier.

Questionable approach, aside from keeping Tua in, was to continue being pass happy in the second half given the score and the situation that was materializing with pass protection.

Skylar Thompson had a rough outing, in large part due to the poor protection.

Overall

The Dolphins are 8-3, in first place in the AFC East, own the second seed in the AFC. But things are about to get real. Their opponents are a combined 38-29 and they have four games on the road. Some out west, some in the cold. This is the part of the season that will tell us how good this team actually is.