DeVante Parker Shines Again Despite Miami’s 36-20 Loss

The Miami Dolphins spent their second of two weekends away in a row at the Meadowlands, but fell for the second time in that span, this time at the hands of the New York Giants. New York handed Miami a 16-point loss, 36-20, even though the Dolphins held a 10-7 lead going into halftime. 

Fitzpatrick to Parker, like a broken record

Miami (3-11) started off the day better than most weeks, despite missing a field goal on its opening possession. It scored first with a 20-yard strike to wide receiver DeVante Parker early in the second quarter after a scoreless first quarter between the teams. 

“I just think the type of receiver he is – big, physical, makes the tough catches, really smart, really consistent – the things we’ve said in the past about him, every day he wants to get better, continues to work hard – all that stuff, his size and his catch radius – are all very good things for a quarterback,” Dolphins quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick said.

Giants get on the board with Tate’s only catch of game

Even though New York (3-11) then answered back with a TD of their own to WR Golden Tate on a 51-yard pass from Eli Manning, Miami started showing how much work it has put in this season. How, one asks? Winning the turnover battle.

LB Vince Biegel snags first career interception

Linebacker Vince Biegel got the ball back for the Dolphins after their ensuing punt on his first career interception. Biegel, traded to Miami in the offseason for LB Kiko Alonso, intercepted Manning at the Giants’ 35-yard line. The first of three interceptions for Miami on the day set up a field goal to end the half. With 44 seconds remaining in the first half, kicker Jason Sanders made a 24-yard field goal to give Miami the 10-7 lead.

With Biegel’s interception, Manning has now thrown an interception against every team in the NFL, of course, with the exception of the Giants. Manning added two more interceptions on what could possibly be his last home game of his career, along with going 20-for-28 for 283 yards and two TDs. 

29-point second half by New York drowns Miami

Unfortunately for Miami, the Giants didn’t take long to get started with their 29-point second half. WR Darius Slayton kicked it off with a five-yard touchdown score after New York took the ball 70 yards down the field in just six plays and three minutes. Two drives later, however, the Dolphins got back in it with a 47-yard field goal to make it a one-point game, 14-13.

“When we came out, we were a different team. We weren’t executing. I don’t know if they made adjustments or that we needed to make many adjustments just in terms of the way the first half went. I thought we moved the ball well. Just frustrating that we couldn’t get things going,” Fitzpatrick said.

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Barkley, Allen add three rushing scores

The next scoring play was a safety given up by Miami, and that’s when things truly got ugly for the Dolphins. Giants RB Saquon Barkley scored back-to-back touchdowns for New York from one yard and 10 yards out respectively. He finished with 112 yards on the day off of 24 carries. RB Javorius Allen also added to the rushing scores on the day, carrying the ball eight time for 28 yards and the score. 

Parker shows (again) why he’s worth the extension

Fitzpatrick and Parker, despite the point-differential and time winding down, showed they had some life left in them. The Dolphins took the ball 46 yards down the field and Fitzpatrick hit Parker for the duo’s second score of the day on a 29-yard score. 

Parker, who just signed a 4-year, $40 million deal, finished the game with 72 yards on four catches with two touchdowns. He now has a career-high eight TDs on the season and needs just 46 yards to eclipse 1,000 yards for the first time in his current five-yard career. 

“It means a lot, man, for them (the Dolphins) to have confidence in me, man. I’m just grateful for another chance (to play here),” Parker said.

Fitzpatrick finished the game with a 93.4 passer rating and a 45 QB rating, hitting 23 of his 41 passes for 279 yards and the two TDs. 

LB Jerome Baker and defensive back Nik Needham added interceptions to the stats sheet for Miami and now the on-fire defense returns home for the Dolphins’ final home game of 2019 to face the Cincinnati Bengals. Kickoff is 1 p.m. on Sunday with huge 2020 NFL Draft implications as both teams currently hold a top-three pick.

Kayla Morton contributed to this article.

– Christian Chappell is a Sports Contributor for Full Press Coverage Miami Dolphins. Like and follow on Follow @cmoneypc Follow @FPC_Dolphins and Facebook.