Instant takeaways from Miami Dolphins' 33-10 blowout of Carolina Panthers

MIAMI GARDENS — It was a perfect South Florida afternoon and about as perfect a performance by the Dolphins as it gets.

On a day when Tua Tagovailoa couldn’t miss and Cam Newton did nothing but miss, the Dolphins combined a near-record performance by rookie Jaylen Waddle with a dominating defensive performance to blow out the Carolina Panthers 33-10.

The Dolphins won their fourth game in a row and face the New York Giants next Sunday in their quest to hit .500. The Dolphins are 5-7 after starting the season 1-7. The Panthers also are 5-7.

The Dolphins enjoyed their biggest rout and best scoring output of the season as Tagovailoa completed 27 of 31 passes for 230 yards, one touchdown, no interceptions and a 108.3 rating.

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Waddle flirted with the record for most receiving yards by a Dolphins rookie when he recorded 119 yards on seven first-half receptions. But he saw little of the ball in the second half and finished with nine receptions for 137 yards (on 10 targets), including a 9-yard score.

Running back Myles Gaskin scored twice on 3-yard runs off direct snaps.

Meanwhile, Miami’s defense made life miserable for Panthers QB Cam Newton, who had one of his worst days as a pro. Newton completed just 5 of 21 passes (23.8 percent) for 92 yards and two interceptions - a 5.8 passer rating - before being benched in the fourth quarter.

Here are takeaways from the blowout:

Huge day for Waddle …

Waddle caught his share of 7-yard passes to begin his NFL career, but Sunday marked a breakout game.

Five plays in, Waddle caught a slant from Tagovailoa for 25 yards. Turned out he was just getting warmed up.

In the second quarter, Waddle caught a pass over the middle from Tagovailoa and flashed what Alabama fans know and love. He eluded an attempt at a diving tackle by Juston Burris, who misjudged Waddle’s speed. If not for the angle the Panthers’ secondary had on Waddle, he would have been gone. As it was, Waddle picked up more than 40 yards after the catch — exactly the kind of play the Dolphins drafted him for in the first round.

That set up a Gaskin TD.

Oh yeah. Sandwiched between those two plays, Waddle also caught a 9-yard TD pass.

Running back Terry Kirby set the Dolphins’ rookie record with 148 receiving yards (on nine receptions) on Dec. 19, 1993, against Buffalo.

… And a three-sack day for Phillips

Meanwhile, edge rusher Jaelan Phillips showed why he also was taken in the first round by the Dolphins. Just as Waddle is hitting his stride, so was Phillips.

Phillips’ came within an eyelash of nailing Newton for a safety in the third quarter. As it was, Phillips recorded a 14-yard sack, leaving the Panthers on their own 1. Adam Butler tipped Newton’s pass on the next play.

For the day, Phillips had three sacks for 28 yards, four quarterback hits, four tackles, a tackle for loss and a pass defensed.

Newton (6-5) can’t get ball over linemen

Newton is 6-feet-5, so you’d think he could get the ball downfield.

Instead, he had the same problem other QBs have had against a Miami defensive line that clearly has made it a point of emphasis to get hands up when a QB is releasing a pass.

The Dolphins lead the league in batted passes, according to the Fox telecast.

We’ll credit end Emmanuel Ogbah with leading that charge, but Zach Sieler, Christian Wilkins, Andrew Van Ginkel and Phillips, to name a few, have followed Ogbah’s lead.

Don’t waste those timeouts and challenges

Brian Flores doesn’t throw the red flag often, which is a good thing.

Flores is 2-4 in challenges this season, including those ill-advised back-to-back challenges against the Jaguars.

Sunday, Flores challenged an early incompletion by Carolina, hoping an overturned ruling would give Raekwon Davis a fumble recovery. But DJ Moore never had the ball long enough to make a football move, and it wasn’t all that close.

“A costly timeout and a bad challenge early,” Fox analyst Mike Perreira said.

Panthers QB situation is a mess

Remember when the season began and there was a minor buzz about how Sam Darnold had resurrected his career in Carolina?

We know that’s a memory test, because it seems like ages ago.

Now, the Panthers seem stuck with Newton because Darnold is on injured reserve with a shoulder injury that probably will keep him out a couple more weeks.

Newton had that pathetic 5.8 passer rating entering the fourth quarter, raising the question why he hadn’t been pulled long before. The Panthers weren’t loaded with options, that’s why. Their other QBs are PJ Walker and Matt Barkley.

Barkley was inactive, so that left seldom-used Walker. He did start the fourth quarter and was immediately sacked by Ogbah for a 9-yard loss. Four plays later, Nik Needham had interception No. 3 for Miami.

Maybe that’s why Newton lasted so long.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Dolphins beat Panthers: Takeaways from NFL Week 12 game