Chargers vs. Dolphins score, takeaways: Justin Herbert stars, L.A. defense shuts down Tua Tagovailoa

Justin Herbert got the better of Tua Tagovailoa in this head-to-head

The Los Angeles Chargers are back above .500 on the season after taking down the Dolphins on Sunday night, 23-17. 

L.A. enjoyed a near-perfect first half that allowed them to jump out to a 10-point lead. Justin Herbert missed only five of his 29 throws through the opening two quarters and the offense had outgained Miami by nearly 200 yards. As the Chargers were moving the ball with relative ease, Miami's offense was a different story entirely. The disjointed rhythm between Tua Tagovailoa and his receivers that we saw last week against San Francisco carried over into this game. Tagovailoa completed just three passes in the first half and the offense had 55 yards of total offense. 

Despite those first-half struggles, Tyreek Hill was able to get them on the board thanks to a wild fumble recovery that he returned 57 yards for a touchdown. In the second half, Hill also had a 60-yard touchdown catch to cut the lead to three. At that point, however, Herbert and the Chargers were able to go on two field goal drives and that was enough to keep a Dolphins comeback at arms length. 

Herbert finished 39 of 51 for 367 yards and a touchdown. Mike Williams led the team with 116 yards receiving, but Keenan Allen saw the most volume, catching 12 of his 14 targets for 92 yards. Meanwhile, Tagovailoa was 10 of 28 for 145 yards and a touchdown. 

This win momentarily moves the Chargers inside the playoff picture in the AFC as the No. 7 seed, ousting the New York Jets. That said, if the Patriots beat the Cardinals on Monday night, they would leapfrog the Chargers to grab ahold of that playoff spot. However it shakes out following Week 14, it'll certainly be a mad dash to the finish and L.A. has firmly put itself in that conversation. Meanwhile, Miami remains the No. 6 seed.

For a more detailed look at how this game unfolded, check out our takeaways below: 

Why the Chargers won

Offensively, Los Angeles had little problem moving the football down the field throughout the game. That was evident on the Chargers' very first drive of the night, despite coming away with zero points. They traveled 78 yards and got to the Miami 2-yard line, but turned the ball over on downs after a failed fourth-down attempt. In the first half, they scored points on three of their five possessions and reached the red zone in all but one of those possessions. 

A major piece to that first-half success came from Williams. He made a stellar contested catch over Xavien Howard on the opening possession to get L.A. into the red zone and in the second quarter made a fantastic toe-tapping touchdown grab in the back of the end zone to put the Chargers up by 10. Against Howard, Williams totaled 97 yards on three catches and each of those receptions were on vertical routes. Williams' ability to rip off chunk plays has been missed by the Chargers when he's been sidelined due to injury, so having him healthy for this playoff push could prove to be a major X factor. 

Herbert's mobility was also on display in this win. Per Next Gen Stats, he evaded a career-high five pressures and completed 13 passes on the run, which is two more than any other player in a game since 2016. This has been an area that Herbert has thrived in all season as he leads the NFL in completions, yards and touchdown passes on the run. 

Defensively, Brandon Staley's team deserves a lot of credit, especially with star safety Derwin James sidelined for this matchup. They followed a similar blueprint to what the San Francisco 49ers did to this Miami passing attack a week ago and enjoyed similar results. They pressed Dolphins receivers at the line of scrimmage, which helped disrupt the timing for Tagovailoa and seemingly threw the entire offense out of whack. 

Why the Dolphins lost

As we mentioned briefly above, the Dolphins had no real answer against press coverage. Tagovailoa was thrown out of rhythm early in this game, completing just three of his 15 passes in the first half. For the game, that press coverage almost entirely eliminated the deep passing attack that has been so lethal for Miami this season. Tagovailoa was able to hit Hill for a 60-yard touchdown, but that was the only real punch the Dolphins offense had in this matchup. On throws 15 yards or more down the field, Tagovailoa was 1-for-8. Meanwhile, seven of his 10 completions were targeted within 10 yards. For a team that wants to go vertical and use the speed of both Hill and Jaylen Waddle -- who didn't have a catch until the fourth quarter -- to their advantage, that press coverage applied by Los Angeles made it nearly impossible. 

One thing that was particularly head-scratching with Miami's offensive approach in this game was their lack of aggressiveness on the ground. Coming into Week 14, the Chargers run defense ranked 30th in the NFL in DVOA. Despite that, the Dolphins never really challenged them in that area and had just eight rushing attempts in the first half and 19 for the game. With the passing attack not producing, exploiting that weak run defense should've been more of an emphasis and could have helped balance the time-of-possession battle where L.A. nearly doubled Miami. Any semblance of a running game likely would have also kept the defense a bit fresher as the unit was on the field for 78 plays on the night. 

Speaking of the defense, it had trouble handling Herbert as his mobility and ability to throw on the run gashed the unit at times during this game. That said, Jaelan Phillips was a bright spot with six total tackles and a sack, despite a very questionable roughing the passer penalty called against him. 

Turning point

Despite having a lackluster attack offensively for a large portion of the game, Miami found itself down by just six heading into the fourth quarter. The dagger that the Chargers stuck into the Dolphins was a 17-play drive that ended with a 28-yard field goal by Cameron Dicker. That kick not only put L.A. up by nine, but it chewed 8:39 off the clock and forced Miami to burn its final two timeouts. By the time the Dolphins got the ball back, they found themselves without any timeouts and down two scores with just 2:40 left in regulation. 

Herbert was sensational on that drive and made several dynamite throws, including this third-down laser to Allen to move the chains. 

Herbert was 6 of 8 on the drive for 39 yards passing and logged 10 yards on the ground, which came on a third-and-8 to help move the chains and continue to bleed the clock. 

Play of the game

Maybe one of the more improbable touchdowns of the entire season came in the first half of this game. In the second quarter, Dolphins running back Jeff Wilson Jr. took a second-and-4 handoff up the middle to midfield before fumbling. The ball was jarred free and there was initially a pile of players that jumped onto it. Somehow, it trickled free out of that scrum and right in front of Hill, who picked it up and dashed 57 yards to the house for the touchdown. 

Per Next Gen Stats, Hill reached a top speed of 21.78 mph on that return, which is the third fastest by a ball carrier this season and the fastest by a wide receiver. 

That was about the only positive aspect of Miami's offense in the first half and did keep them within spitting distance of the Chargers for the remainder of the contest. Hill finished with that scoop-and-score along with catching four of his 10 targets for 81 yards, which included a 60-yard touchdown reception. 

What's next

From here, the Dolphins will head to Buffalo to face the Bills on Saturday night. As for the Chargers, they'll stick around SoFi Stadium and gear up for a head-to-head with the Tennessee Titans next Sunday. 

[Dec 11, 2022 at 11:28 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Chargers host the Titans next week, while the Dolphins travel to Buffalo to take on the Bills.

[Dec 11, 2022 at 11:28 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Chargers recover the onside kick and will secure the win. L.A. moves to 7-6 and Miami drops to 8-5. 

[Dec 11, 2022 at 11:26 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Actually, it looks like Waddle lost that ball in the lights. Could have been a big play. In any event, Sanders nails the field goal and now the Dolphins will need to recover an onside kick.

[Dec 11, 2022 at 11:25 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Tua overthrows Waddle on the stutter-and-go down the right sideline, and it looks like the Dolphins will try for the field goal here. They need one at some point anyway. so might as well. It's a 55-yarder, though, which will be tough.

[Dec 11, 2022 at 11:21 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Tyreek and Waddle both ran deep routes on first down, so they came out for the second-down play. That kept them both on the sideline for third down as well, as Miami went hurry-up to avoid the clock running down to the 2-minute warning. Picked up a first down anyway, and the two star WRs came back onto the field for this next series to come after the break.

[Dec 11, 2022 at 11:17 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

2:40 on the clock for Miami, which needs both a touchdown and a field goal. No timeouts remaining. 

[Dec 11, 2022 at 11:15 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Mike Williams was not on the field on first- or second-and-goal, but came onto the field for third down. Chargers tried to flip a screen out to Ekeler the other way, but it was lost yardage. Dicker comes on to try to make this a 9-point lead.

[Dec 11, 2022 at 11:13 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Dolphins take their final timeout, trying to conserve clock because it's looking like they'll be down by two scores whenever they get the ball back. (Even if the Chargers kick a field goal, it'll be a 9-point lead.)

[Dec 11, 2022 at 11:11 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Herbert saw an immediate opening to the right side of the defense and scrambled right away for the first down. Followed right behind Ekeler, whose route was clearing out the only underneath defender to that side.

[Dec 11, 2022 at 11:08 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

12th catch of the night for Keenan Allen there. 92 yards for him. 6-116 for Williams and 7-63 for Ekeler.

[Dec 11, 2022 at 11:07 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Another third-down conversion for L.A. extends the drive. Dolphins need to get themselves a stop pretty soon because the clock is running kinda low.

[Dec 11, 2022 at 11:05 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Ridiculous throw from Herbert to Allen to convert that third down. Sheesh. What a laser right behind the ear of the DB.

[Dec 11, 2022 at 10:59 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Extremely untimely intentional grounding on Tua right there. Could have been third-and-long-ish for the Dolphins but instead it's third-and-19.

[Dec 11, 2022 at 10:56 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

First catch of the night for Jaylen Waddle, on Miami's first snap of the fourth quarter. He had been conspicuously uninvolved all night, but picks up 19 yards there.

[Dec 11, 2022 at 10:52 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Ekeler runs for negative yardage on second-and-1, then the Chargers go with a bubble screen to Keenan Allen on third-and-2, and he's stopped short of the line as well. Third quarter ends and we'll likely see an L.A. punt to begin the fourth.

[Dec 11, 2022 at 10:49 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Tua under immediate pressure as he hits the top of his drop, and he tries to escape but runs right into Morgan Fox. It's a sack and the Chargers will get the ball back and a chance to extend their lead.

[Dec 11, 2022 at 10:46 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

By far the best run of the night for Mostert, who gains 12 or so yards on the carry up the middle. He had 8 carries for 22 yards before that.

[Dec 11, 2022 at 10:44 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Terrible penalty on the illegal snap killed that drive for L.A. Now it's Dicker on for a short field goal to make it a 6-point game instead of a chance at a touchdown.

[Dec 11, 2022 at 10:41 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Another downfield target for Mike Williams working on Xavien Howard, and another big play. Great throw over the top by Herbert. 55 yards.

[Dec 11, 2022 at 10:35 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Michael Davis falls down while covering Tyreek on the deep ball and Tyreek goes 60 yards to the house. Man, these guys can score quickly. 

[Dec 11, 2022 at 10:33 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Tua looked like he was loading up to find Waddle over the middle there, but it's a good thing he didn't because it would have been picked. Instead, he scrambles for around 5 yards.

[Dec 11, 2022 at 10:29 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

The Dolphins desperately need a big play on this next drive. There has been absolutely nothing doing for them all night. If they didn't have a fumble-recovery-touchdown, they'd be getting shut out while averaging around 2 yards per play. 

[Dec 11, 2022 at 10:25 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

That... does not look like a good call.

[Dec 11, 2022 at 10:25 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Uh, a very late roughing the passer call on Jaelen Phillips gives the Chargers a first down. Looks like it's a body weight call. 

[Dec 11, 2022 at 10:23 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

No idea what the play design was on that second down. Bootleg with a two-man route but neither route came to the side where Herbert rolled. 

[Dec 11, 2022 at 10:19 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Tua had Waddle WIDE open on a corner route but tried to throw over the middle for Gesicki instead. Really rough game for him tonight.

[Dec 11, 2022 at 10:18 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Wilson had been the much more effective runner than Mostert so far, and that continued on Miami's first snap of the half. Nothing doing for Mostert there.

[Dec 11, 2022 at 10:14 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Really nice play in the open field by Kader Kohou. Stone Smartt had a shot to get the first down by Kohou took out his legs immediately. Dolphins have a chance to cut the lead now.