Who’s hot, who’s not after the Dolphins’ road win against the Patriots

In a 24-17 road win on “Sunday Night Football,” the Dolphins got key contributions from a pair of pass rushers, as well as a standout performance from their lead running back.

Here’s a look at who’s hot — and who’s not — after Miami’s victory over the New England Patriots.

Who’s hot

▪ Linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel: When the Dolphins re-signed Van Ginkel, he appeared headed for a reserve role behind Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb, Miami’s bookend edge rushers. By offseason workouts, Van Ginkel was seen cross-training at inside linebacker. And in the Dolphins’ Week 1 win against the Los Angeles Chargers, Van Ginkel played the majority of his snaps alongside Jerome Baker. But with Phillips sidelined by a back injury, Van Ginkel returned back to the edge, where he looked comfortable and caused problems for Patriots’ tackles all night.

Van Ginkel recorded one sack, three quarterback hits and six tackles, one of which was the drive-ending stop after tight end Mike Gesicki’s lateral to guard Cole Strange. The additions of cornerback Jalen Ramsey and linebacker David Long Jr. drew headlines in the offseason, but the decision to bring back Van Ginkel, a versatile player with a tireless motor, has been a boon for the defense.

▪ Running back Raheem Mostert: He has been the Dolphins’ unquestioned lead back with Jeff Wilson Jr. on injured reserve, and Miami turned to Mostert even more when Salvon Ahmed was sidelined by a groin injury. Mostert delivered, running for 121 yards and two touchdowns. His 43-yard score in the fourth quarter was a momentum-swinging play, giving the Dolphins a two-score lead again after the Patriots cut their deficit to seven.

▪ Linebacker Bradley Chubb: With his position mate and good friend Phillips sidelined, Chubb stepped up as a pass rusher. In the first quarter, he hustled several yards downfield to knock the ball from wide receiver Demario Douglas’ hands, who was nearing the Dolphins’ red zone, and the fumble was recovered by safety DeShon Elliott. Chubb had a key sack on the game-ending drive after the Patriots entered Miami territory. Chubb added seven tackles and two quarterback hits to his stat line. It was the type of performance the Dolphins had hoped for from Chubb when they made a blockbuster deal for him at last year’s trade deadline and then gave him a $110 million extension.

Who’s not

▪ Special teams: Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said after the game that the team would watch the film of its win and see that the game didn’t need to be as close as it was. Special teams played a role in what was ultimately a one-score game, with several plays that went in favor of the Patriots.

The first came via a shrewd call from New England, which had defensive back Brenden Schooler get a running start off the edge and block kicker Jason Sanders’ third-quarter field-goal attempt. Later, Sanders’ 55-yard field goal attempt late in the fourth quarter, which would have effectively sealed the win, missed wide left, giving New England one last opportunity to send the game to overtime.

These mistakes follow Sanders’ missed extra point attempt late in the team’s season-opening win over the Los Angeles Chargers.

▪ Cornerback Eli Apple: Apple struggled at times with the Patriots’ physical wide receivers. He was flagged for three penalties on Sunday night, two of which came on a New England scoring drive that brought the Dolphins’ lead to seven in the fourth quarter.