I don’t recognize the quarterback or the team that was playing against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The quarterback looked like he had gone 12 rounds with Apollo Creed. The defensive front looked like the players in black uniforms were trying to run through a brick wall. And the offensive line had plenty of moments where they ushered people out of their way like a busy night at LIV on Miami Beach.

But inside those aqua and white uniforms were the same old Miami Dolphins that had limped their way to 1-6 on the season and gotten physically handled along most of that path. And it seemed as though a tough Atlanta defense and a bruising Falcons rushing attack – led by arguably the most talented running back in the NFL in Bijan Robinson – was going to feast against the Dolphins.

But that’s why the play the games. Football is a weird and wild sport. And that proved true for Sunday in Atlanta well before the game started.

Tua Tagovailoa’s eye issue brought more uncertainty into Sunday afternoon, but the veteran delivered

Tua popped up with an unknown illness on Sunday morning, per the team, and as it turns out, that issue was a swollen eye of apparently unknown origin. Tua was seen pregame throwing with a swollen left eye. It doesn’t seem optimal for your quarterback to be dealing with eye and/or vision issues going into a start.

But Uber-Tua was apparently unlocked despite the eye issue. On the same field where he completed 2nd and 26 against Georgia for a walk-off national championship-clinching touchdown pass in January 2018, Tua had another very memorable performance for all of the right reasons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. He finished a very efficient 20/26 for 205 yards and a season-high 4 touchdowns. He was precise, in rhythm, and terrific with his decision making and reads.

The Dolphins did the unthinkable by physically punishing one of the most physical teams in the NFL

I could not believe what I was watching on both sides of the line of scrimmage on Sunday. With Drake London a late scratch with a hip injury and Kirk Cousins under center in place of Michael Penix, Jr., it seemed all but certain that this would be a Robinson breakout game against a Dolphins defense that’s susceptible to the ground attack.

Robinson and the Atlanta ground game were a total non-factor by the end of it. Atlanta finished with 45 yards on 17 carries, and Robinson had just 25 on 9 carries with a lost fumble. The Dolphins’ front seven absolutely dominated and was everywhere when the ball was handed off. And the defense was sticky in coverage, blanketing KhaDarel Hodge, Darnell Mooney, and the rest of the Atlanta wide receivers.

Offensively, Miami was efficient enough on the ground, totaling 141 yards on 37 carries for the game. It wasn’t dominating, but it was good enough effort by the Miami offensive lien to help sustain drives and has been certainly one of the better efforts of the unit so far this season. And to do it against a tough and physical Atlanta defense is not the spot I would have guessed either.

It was a strange day before the game started, and it seemed even stranger by the time the game was over. But then again, weird things happen in the NFL sometimes, and the Dolphins proved the very longstanding adage that on any given Sunday, anything can happen.

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