The Dolphins had quarterback Jay Cutler in the lineup for the second time on Thursday night and he showed that the deep ball could be a productive tool for the offense this season.
Cutler hooked up with DeVante Parker for a 72-yard gain to set up one touchdown and another long ball for Kenny Stills resulted in a pass interference penalty that left the Dolphins with one yard to pick up for another score. The night had its rougher moments, including a lost fumble on a sack by Eagles defensive end Vinny Curry but Cutler was 5-of-8 for 105 yards and a touchdown in an outing that met with approval from coach Adam Gase.
“It seems like his pocket presence is coming back pretty quick,” Gase said in comments distributed by the Eagles. “He made some nice step ups and sliding in the pocket to find some lanes; there were some broken plays where he hooked up with some guys. I thought that was a step in the right direction. Last week, he was kind of still feeling his way out and tonight he looked more comfortable.”
Gase took the blame for the sack, saying he put the team in a “bad position” by having them go with a silent count that they haven’t worked on enough, and saw room for improvement on third downs, but it feels like the team’s pretty comfortable with where things are headed offensively now that Cutler’s had some time to get used to life in Miami.