Dolphins end distracting week with victory

Sep 18, 2017 - 9:39 PM DAVIE, Fla. -- After a tense week that included traveling to Southern California to escape Hurricane Irma, the Miami Dolphins were rewarded with a hard-fought 19-17 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers.

Kicker Cody Parkey kicked a 54-yard field goal with 1:05 remaining to give Miami (1-0) its lead, but it wasn't until Chargers rookie kicker Younghoe Koo missed a 44-yard field-goal attempt with five seconds left that the Dolphins secured the victory.

"It was a good day," guard Jermon Bushrod said. "The people of Florida needed that."

The capper to the unusual week or so for the Dolphins came when veteran linebacker Lawrence Timmons turned up missing on Saturday. Timmons didn't have an excused absence and didn't inform anyone he wouldn't be there, which meant he was AWOL (absent without leave).

A report on TMZ said Timmons was discovered at Los Angeles International Airport with the intention of going to Pennsylvania to visit a daughter.

The report also said the team would like Timmons to visit a doctor.

Head coach Adam Gase said he was still in the information gathering process Monday and didn't want to venture a guess as to whether Timmons would continue to be a member of the team.

Gase kept his comments on Timmons brief after the game.

"That was a coach's decision," Gase said of Timmons being inactive. "I'll be ready to talk about that probably (Monday)."

A league source said the team located Timmons at some point prior to Sunday's kickoff. Gase didn't answer directly when asked about that detail.

"I'm not saying anything right now," he said. "I need to kind of figure some things out first before I talk about this."

Gase said Monday he's got two rules: be on time, and play hard.

Asked about his patience for violators, Gase asked rhetorically, "What do you think? I've got two rules. It's not hard."

Undrafted rookie Chase Allen ended up starting for Timmons, which meant Miami's starting linebackers trio was Allen on the strong side, Mike Hull in the middle (Rey Maualuga was also inactive) and veteran Kiko Alonso on the weak side.

Miami running back Jay Ajayi led the offense with 122 yards rushing on 28 carries. Quarterback Jay Cutler (24 of 33, 230 yards, one touchdown) spread the ball around, but wide receiver Jarvis Landry was his favorite target, recording 13 receptions for 78 yards.

Wide receiver DeVante Parker was the most spectacular receiver, however, with four receptions for 85 yards, while Kenny Stills (two receptions, 37 yards, one touchdown) was the only wide receiver to record a touchdown.

Defensively, Hull led the team with 10 tackles while Allen had three. Perhaps more impressively, Miami's run defense, which was 30th in the league last season, allowed just 44 yards on 14 carries.

All in all, it was a strange journey for Miami, and that included playing at StubHub Center (capacity 27,000) before an announced crowd of 25,381. The crowd noise was such a non-factor Miami never used a silent count.

Despite all that, and the Hurricane Irma fears, the Dolphins were able to focus and come away with the victory.

"We have a core group," Gase said. "The same guys we had last year and when it gets tight in the fourth quarter they just think they're going to win."

--Miami's defense was one of the big questions entering the season, but it answered the call in Sunday's 19-17 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers. It wasn't a crisp performance -- the Chargers gained 367 yards and averaged 6.8 yards per play. But Miami held running back Melvin Gordon to 13 yards on nine carries, including an 11-yard carry.

Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn, a former running backs coach for the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills, used some no-huddle in the second half but it didn't get the desired result,

"I've done it before against that team," Lynn said "I played in that division for a long time. That's a good way to get those guys tired to slow down the pass rush."

Miami sacked quarterback Philip Rivers once and had trouble pressuring him because the ball was out of his hand so quickly.

Still, the defense had a good showing, especially against the run.

--Kicker Cody Parkey, who hit the 54-yard game-winning field goal against the Los Angeles Chargers, is 5 for 5 in his career on kicks of 50 yards or more. Parkey hit four field goals, from 30, 28, 35 and 54 yards, to secure the victory for Miami. Parkey, who beat out incumbent Andrew Franks in a training camp battle, thanked the Dolphins for the opportunity to win the job. "I could have been at home sitting on my couch," said Parkey, who was cut by Cleveland.

--The Dolphins returned home Monday for the first time since Hurricane Irma, which at one time appeared would make a direct hit on Miami as a powerful category 4 storm, swept through South Florida. Many residents still didn't have electricity a week after Irma. Players got updates on their homes, cars and everything else during the week, but they hadn't actually seen the damage.

"Hopefully, all my power is on, and I can be comfortable in my home," Jay Ajayi said.

NOTES: QB Jay Cutler did a good job of playing a smart game against the Los Angeles Chargers. Cutler (24 of 33, 230 yards, one touchdown, no interceptions, 101.8 passer rating) didn't force passes and allowed things to unfold in a natural and comfortable manner. "He was really good with the ball today," head coach Adam Gase said of Cutler. "I thought he made good decisions. I was off calling plays. It wasn't as clean for me as I thought it would be. I think I slowed him up a little bit."

Cutler had one close call on a deep throw to WR DeVante Parker. But Parker went up high and snatched an almost certain interception away from the defensive back, resulting in a 31-yard gain. ... DT Jordan Phillips, who was locked in a training camp battle with rookie DT Davon Godchaux, got the start against the Los Angeles Chargers. Phillips, the 2015 second-round pick, played reasonably well, ending with three tackles while alternating with Godchaux. Overall, Miami was probably happy with its defensive tackles, who were on the front end of a rushing defense that only allowed 44 yards. ... WR Jarvis Landry turned out to be QB Jay Cutler's favorite target by a wide margin in the opener. Landry ended with 13 receptions for 78 yards after being targeted 15 times. WR DeVante Parker was targeted nine times. ... TE Julius Thomas came to life Sunday in a low-key way. Thomas, who was barely noticeable during training camp and preseason, ended with three receptions for 26 yards against the Los Angeles Chargers.

--LG Anthony Steen started against the Los Angeles Chargers but ended up in a platoon system with LG Jesse Davis. That trend might continue until one of the players secures the job. ... DT Ndamukong Suh (four tackles, two for losses) was active against the Los Angeles Chargers, so much so that he got the attention of Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn, who said he wanted to feed RB Melvin Gordon. "What I saw early was Suh dominating up front and I got away from that," Lynn said of the running game. ... CB Byron Maxwell, who was locked in a battle with CB Alterraun Verner, got the start against the Los Angeles Chargers and played every snap. There was a report the Dolphins had been trying to acquire CB Richard Sherman from Seattle as recently as a month ago but Maxwell had a decent performance against the Chargers. ... RB Jay Ajayi put his usual battering ram form on display against the Chargers. Ajayi (122 yards on 28 carries) ran hard and powered an offense that needed a strong ground game. Ajayi rushed for 1,272 yards last season and said his goal for this year is to eclipse that total. ... RB Senorice Perry sparked an active special teams unit by getting a piece of a punt in the fourth quarter. Perry, the fourth running back, broke through on the left side of the line and got a few fingers on a punt.