Postgame Notes – Week 13 – Denver

Denver Broncos at Miami Dolphins
Hard Rock Stadium
December 3, 2017 | 1 PM
POSTGAME NOTES

DOLPHINS DEFEAT DENVER, 35-9

• The Dolphins’ win today is the team’s first against Denver since Nov. 2, 2008 and first home win against the Broncos since Sept. 11, 2005.
• Miami is now 3-2 at Hard Rock Stadium this season. The team has won at least three games at the stadium in every season since 2010, despite playing just seven games at the venue in 2015 (and again this season).
• The Dolphins have now won 10 of their past 14 games at Hard Rock Stadium, the team’s best 14-game home stretch since they won 10 of 14 from Nov. 13, 2011 to Sept. 22, 2013.

XAVIEN HOWARD HAS GAME TO REMEMBER

• CB Xavien Howard recorded two interceptions today, picking off Broncos QB Trevor Siemian and returning it 30 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter, and then intercepting Siemian again in the fourth quarter.
• It was Miami’s first interception return for a touchdown since LB Kiko Alonso won the San Diego game with a 60-yard interception return for a touchdown on Nov. 13, 2016.
• The last time a Dolphins cornerback returned an interception for a touchdown was CB Brent Grimes in 2014.
• Howard became the first Dolphins player to have two interceptions in a game since CB Tony Lippett at N.Y. Jets on Dec. 17, 2016.
• Howard’s five passes defensed are tied for the most in an NFL game this season.
  • L.A. Chargers’ Casey Hayward had five passes defensed on Oct. 1, 2017 vs. Philadelphia.
• It was the first two regular-season interceptions of Howard’s career. He intercepted Pittsburgh QB Ben Roethlisberger and returned it 11 yards in last year’s AFC Wild Card playoff game.

KENYAN DRAKE HAS BEST GAME OF HIS NFL CAREER

• RB Kenyan Drake made just the third start of his career today and posted career highs with 23 carries and 120 yards.
• Drake’s 120 yards marked the first 100-yard game of his career.
• Drake’s 23 carries and 120 yards were both career highs not only in the NFL, but were his highest totals in attempts and yards since his high school career.
• Drake’s longest rush of the day was for a 42-yard touchdown. It’s his third 40-yard run of the season, which is tied for the most in the NFL at the end of the 1 p.m. games.
  • Kansas City’s Kareem Hunt (193 attempts) and Chicago’s Jordan Howard (212 attempts) also have three 40-plus-yard runs but both have at least 100 more rushing attempts than Drake’s 65 carries this season.

DOLPHINS DEFENSE GETS THEIR HANDS ON 12 PASSES TODAY

• The Dolphins recorded 12 passes defensed today. It is tied for the fourth-most passes defensed in a game in team history and Miami’s most since they recorded 12 on Oct. 31, 2010 at Cincinnati.
• The 12 passes defensed are tied for the second most in the NFL this season and are the most by a team since Oct. 15, 2017 when New Orleans had 16 passes defensed vs. Detroit.
• CB Xavien Howard’s five passes defensed are tied for the most in an NFL game this season.
  • L.A. Chargers’ Casey Hayward had five passes defensed on Oct. 1, 2017 vs. Philadelphia.
• CB Bobby McCain had a career-high three passes defensed today.

JULIUS THOMAS CATCHES 36TH TD OF HIS CAREER

• TE Julius Thomas caught his third touchdown of the season when he reeled in a 9-yard score from QB Jay Cutler in the second quarter. It was the 36th touchdown reception of Thomas’ career.
• All 36 of Thomas’ touchdown receptions have come since 2013. He is third among all NFL tight ends in touchdown receptions since the start of the 2013 season:

NFL TIGHT END TD RECEPTION LEADERS (2013-PRESENT)*

* as of end of today’s 1 p.m. games

SAFETIES, SAFETIES

• With the Broncos backed up near their own goal line in the first quarter, the Dolphins forced a safety on a backwards pass by Broncos QB Trevor Siemian. The safety was Miami’s first since Nov. 21, 2014 when DE Terrence Fede blocked a punt out of the end zone against Minnesota.
• Miami also forced a safety on a punt in the fourth quarter when LB Chase Allen forced a fumble that was recovered by Denver in the end zone and tackled by RB Senorise Perry.
• It was the first time in team history the Dolphins have forced two safeties in the same game.
  • The team had 24 previous games with one safety.
• This is the fourth time in Dolphins history the team has had two or more safeties in a season.
  • The team record is three safeties in 2005 and 2014. The team also had two safeties in 1978.

LANDRY KEEPS CATCHING PASSES

• WR Jarvis Landry caught five passes for 62 yards (12.4 avg.). He is the only player in the NFL to catch at least five passes in every game this season.
• Landry now has 80 receptions on the season. At the end of the 1 p.m. games, Landry was tied for the NFL lead with 80 receptions (Pittsburgh’s Antonio Brown).
• Landry’s 80 receptions this season are ninth in Dolphins history despite having four games still to play. Landry already holds the No. 1 (110 in 2015), No. 2 (94 in 2016) and No. 6 (84 in 2014) marks in team history.
• Landry has extended his NFL record for most catches in the first four years of a career and now has 368 career receptions.

McDONALD RECORDS FIRST INTERCEPTION AS A DOLPHIN

• S T.J. McDonald intercepted Broncos QB Trevor Siemian on Denver’s first possession of the game after CB Bobby McCain deflected the ball. It was McDonald’s first interception as a Dolphin in just his fourth game with the team.
• McDonald had four interceptions in four seasons (2013-16) with the Rams.

FEDE BLOCKS SECOND PUNT OF HIS CAREER

• DE Terrence Fede blocked a P Riley Dixon punt in the third quarter today. It was the second blocked punt of Fede’s career after he also blocked one vs. Minnesota on Dec. 21, 2014 that resulted in a safety to win the game with less than a minute remaining.
• Fede’s two career blocked punts are tied for the third-most (with three others) in team history, behind only the three career blocked punts by Tim Foley and Jimmy Wilson.
• Miami’s last blocked punt came on Dec. 17, 2016 when S Walt Aikens blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown.
• It is the third blocked kick of the season for the Dolphins. DT Vincent Taylor blocked field goals at N.Y. Jets (9/24) and at Baltimore (10/26).

HAACK HAS RECORD DAY

• P Matt Haack had seven punts inside the 20-yard line today, the most in team history since records date back to 1976.
• The seven punts inside the 20 were the most in the NFL this season and most by an NFL punter since Dec. 27, 2015 when Tennessee’s Brett Kern had seven vs. Houston.
• Haack’s seven punts inside the 20 are tied for the third-most in the NFL since records date back to 1976. The record is eight, shared by Jacksonville’s Bryan Barker (Nov. 14, 1999 vs. Baltimore) and Pittsburgh’s Mark Royals (Nov. 6, 1994 at Houston).
• One of Haack’s punts resulted in a safety after he pinned Denver inside the 5-yard line and LB Chase Allen forced a fumble that was recovered in Denver’s end zone.

TWO TOUCHDOWNS IN SEVEN SECONDS

• The Dolphins scored two touchdowns in seven seconds today in the second quarter after TE Julius Thomas caught a 9-yard touchdown pass and CB Xavien Howard had a 30-yard interception return for a touchdown.
• It is the shortest time between two touchdowns in Dolphins history.
• The last time an NFL team scored two touchdowns in a seven-second span was Jacksonville, who did so on Oct. 25, 2015 vs. Buffalo.

INJURIES REPORTED IN THE PRESS BOX

MIAMI DOLPHINS

• CB Cordrea Tankersley, first quarter/second quarter – shoulder/ankle – questionable (returned)
• C Mike Pouncey, fourth quarter – hamstring – questionable (did not return)

CAPTAINS

• C Mike Pouncey, WR Kenny Stills, DT Ndamukong Suh, TE Julius Thomas, S Michael Thomas, DE Cameron Wake

QUICK HITS

• There were 65,092 tickets distributed to today’s game.
• LS John Denney played in his 204th consecutive game, extending his team-best streak, which is tied for third among all active NFL players. Denney’s 204 career games played are tied with Hall of Famer Jason Taylor for the second-most in Dolphins history.
• DT Ndamukong Suh started his 95th consecutive game. It’s the longest games started streak among active NFL defensive linemen.
• The last time a team recorded two safeties and an interception return for a touchdown in the same game was the N.Y. Giants on Nov. 5, 1961 when they had safeties from Dick Modzelewski and Jim Katcavage and a 51-yard interception return from Jimmy Patton in their win over Washington.
• The last the Dolphins scored on a safety and an interception return for a touchdown in the same game was Miami’s 22-20 win against Cincinnati in overtime on Oct, 31, 2013, when CB Brent Grimes scored on a 94-yard interception return and DE Cameron Wake ended the game in overtime with a game-winning sack for a safety.
• WR Kenny Stills played in his 75th NFL game today.
• WR Kenny Stills caught his sixth touchdown of the season and tied WR Jarvis Landry for the team lead.
• DE Cameron Malveaux and RB De’Veon Smith made their NFL debuts today.
• QB David Fales made his Dolphins debut today.
• LB Kiko Alonso recorded his 400th career tackle today.
• K Cody Parkey totaled his 100th career extra point and 300th NFL point today.