What stood out in the Miami Dolphins’ Week 17 game against the Cleveland Browns was a 20-3 victory that kept their playoff hopes alive.

We’ll start with the list of inactives, which was obviously highlighted by quarterback Tua Tagovailoa missing his fifth game of the season, but his first, with a hip injury. Wide receiver Jaylen Waddle (knee) was among those inactive.

The Dolphins started with four active running backs for the second time all season.

With Tagovailoa inactive, Tyler Huntley made his fourth start of the season and Skylar Thompson served as his backup after being called up from the practice squad.

This was a game the Dolphins thought they would win because the Browns are so limited offensively, and they were very efficient in improving to 8-8 and adding meaning to their season finale against the New York Jets .

The offense started off sloppy in the first half, with numerous penalties putting the team in difficult down-and-distance situations.

Tyler Huntley was about as good as you could expect, if not better. In fact, the offense looked very similar to how it did most of the season, meaning it was efficient when penalties didn’t stop the offense and Huntley completed a high percentage of his passes. The difference is that Huntley managed a few passes with his running ability.

Huntley actually could have thrown the ball downfield quicker than Tua this season.

The defense put in a strong performance, which was to be expected against a weak Cleveland offense led by a quarterback (Dorian Thompson-Robinson) who respectfully looks like a practice player.

The Dolphins once again utilized a rotation on the right side with Liam Eichenberg and Isaiah Wynn, and we’re still wondering what exactly that is all about.

Speaking of the offensive line, it’s sad that Terron Armstead has to leave the game early again due to his sore right knee. Again, we have to wonder if this may have been his last game in a Dolphins jersey.

– De’Von Achane got off to a good start with gains of 9 and 6 yards on two of his first three runs, but he never had such success again.

– There were a few bad mistakes on the Dolphins’ first drive, including Wynn committing a personal foul and then Huntley losing 9 yards when he wasn’t looking when a shotgun blast hit him in the chest.

– More sloppiness on the second drive, including a holding penalty on Aaron Brewer, negated a spectacular diving catch by Achane.

– And then the time of the money, with Jason Sanders making a 54-yard field goal attempt (as usual).

– The second quarter began for the Browns with a first-and-goal from the 7-yard line, but the Dolphins held them to a field goal. Jevon Holland had the decisive advantage when his penetration forced Jerome Ford past the goal on an outside run.

– Impressive interception over the middle by linebacker Tyrel Dodson, starting for the injured Anthony Walker Jr., but he’ll have to be smarter than immediately taking off his helmet to celebrate and cost the Dolphins 15 yards for no reason.

– Another brutally sloppy sequence followed, which included a holding penalty against Armstead, a false start against Kendall Lamm and a sack. Pooh.

– Calais Campbell and Quinton Bell combined for a huge fourth-down stop on a fourth-and-1 at the Miami 38, setting the stage for a late field goal that gave Miami a 6-3 halftime lead.

– Great sequence from Huntley in the two-minute drill, three consecutive completions for Malik Washington, although Washington did a great job of catching a pass thrown behind him.

– The first drive of the half included the Dolphins’ first third-down conversion of the game on a 16-yard completion from Huntley to River Cracraft.

– Huntley showed off his athletic ability on the next play with a 13-yard touchdown scramble.

– An example of how dysfunctional the Cleveland offense was on the Browns’ next drive was a false start followed by an intentional grounding penalty when Thompson-Robinson was within Calais Campbell’s reach.

– Just as the Browns were getting ahead on their next drive, Campbell dropped Robinson-Thompson, causing a 3-yard loss to a keeper, and then Emmanuel Ogbah made a big play against his original NFL team with a chop to score on Get past offensive lineman and remove the ball from DTR to cause a turnover.

– The Dolphins’ final offensive snap of the third quarter was terrible, a pitch to Achane on fourth-and-1 from the Cleveland 36 that ultimately resulted in a 2-yard loss. It’s a mystery why the Dolphins don’t go straight in these situations.

— Great stand at the goal line early in the fourth quarter, including running lands to Thompson-Robinson after he faked left, and then Jalen Ramsey came up with the big pass breakup on fourth-and-goal from 3rd.

– Of course, one could argue that the Browns should have taken the sure field goal to make it a one-score game, but perhaps we understand their desire to provide DTR with meaningful game moments since they have long been eliminated from the playoffs Competition.

– The Dolphins took the lead with a three-pointer on the ensuing possession on a bad drop by Malik Washington, a second-down pass. Of course, one could ask whether Wilson’s third and ninth goals result in a direct handoff.

— The Dolphins had another drive that ended with a punt in the fourth quarter, but not before Huntley gained two scrambles of 11 and 18 yards for first downs and more running time.

– Jake Bailey didn’t have a great punt day, but he made it work when his punt landed at the 2-yard line.

– After the Dolphins stopped the Browns short of sticks on fourth-and-5 with Jordyn Brooks’ big hit, Huntley finished his performance in style by adding a touchdown pass to Jonnu Smith.