A disastrous game from the Dolphins questions the outlook on the future.
In all my years of watching the Miami Dolphins, one thing always holds true. They don’t lose often, but when they do, they self-destruct. It felt like Deja vu with the catastrophe on Thursday Night Football against the Buffalo Bills.
There’s so much blame to go around, and it has ramifications that stretch to a place nobody knows, not even the players or coaches on the team.
A mix of bad luck, miscommunication, horrible decisions, and injuries plagued the Dolphins Thursday night and resulted in an outcome that could signal the end of this current roster.
I know Dolphins fans are in a bad place right now, but football is a business, and the business has to continue to run. The games don’t stop, and it’s next man up.
There is so much blame to assign from Thursday night, so buckle up.
Enough Blame To Go Around
Taking a step back and looking at the game, every potential problem pointed out by the media and fans about the Dolphins came to fruition.
Let’s start with the most obvious problem coming into the season, the offensive line. Although general manager Chris Grier has been on record saying the fans “are more worried about the offensive line than we are,” it’s a problem he needs to get worried about. Not now, but yesterday.
The unit lost two of its best starters to free agency. Although center hasn’t been a problem with the addition of Aaron Brewer, the two guards have been suspect. Liam Eichenberg was solid on Thursday but bad on Sunday and will likely continue to be inconsistent.
Robert Jones, playing for the injured Isiah Wynn, who hasn’t returned since last year, was absolutely dominated by Ed Oliver before injuring his shoulder and being replaced by Lester Cotton. Jones basically tagged Cotton in to get overwhelmed the same way by Oliver. Internal pressure consistently got to quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, including the instant pressure that forced Tagovailoa to throw the ball away for a pick-six.
The pick is also on Tagovailoa, and we’ll get to that soon.
Not only did the interior falter but so did the left edge due to Terron Armstead getting injured again. As great as Armstead is, he can’t stay healthy. The Dolphins did go with a future replacement in the draft, but when Armstead got hurt, they replaced him with Kendall Lamm instead of the heir apparent, Patrick Paul.
Why would you draft a left tackle for the future if he doesn’t play when the starter is injured?
So now the Dolphins are down two starters, one of which hasn’t returned since last year, and the other is consistently injured. They’re now missing the backup thought of as starting caliber. The offensive line was a disaster and continues to be one. Are you worried about the offensive line now, Chris Grier?
New Year, Same Defense
I fell into the trap of believing the hype around Anthony Weaver and the new defense, but I’m starting to waver.
The defense came up big on Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars, but part of the second-half shutout was due to the Jaguars getting worn out by the sun. They wore out in the fourth quarter, and the Dolphins took advantage.
That didn’t happen Thursday night, and the Bills made big plays in every big moment. If the Bills needed to score more, they could have. They took their foot off the gas once the game was out of reach. We cannot believe this defense cannot stop the Bills or any other great offense until they prove otherwise.
It wasn’t just the defensive line. It was the vets on the back end. Jalen Ramsey got cooked for a touchdown because he bit on a Josh Allen scramble, and Jordan Poyer took a horrible angle on an inside run and got dusted by James Cook for another touchdown. It was a bad showing for the defense as a whole.
The only excuse I can give the defense is that they showed grit that first game and played four days later. It’s an exhausting turnaround, and it’s too early in the year to say the new defense isn’t going to work. We can cut them a break this time.
The Dynamic Duo Was Anything But
First up between the dynamic duo is Mike McDaniel. I’m a Mike McDaniel guy, but what I saw was concerning. It was not aggressive, and towards the end of the first half, he began to play not to lose or not to lose badly.
That’s not him. He’s usually a leave-it-all-out-there coach, but the Bills made him fold. The Bills took out Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle with a tall lid on the defense. The classic “keep them in front of you” defense once again shut down McDaniel.
When the Dolphins tried to score before halftime, they played with zero urgency, baffling everyone. In a spot where you need a touchdown to cut the lead to ten before the Bills receive the ball in the second half, McDaniel called a drive that I can only explain as not giving the ball back to Josh Allen at all costs.
There were three minutes and thirty seconds on the clock, with three timeouts and a two-minute warning. It ended with a field goal because they ran out of time. It’s scared play calling, and that’s not how you win or even compete against the best teams.
Now onto quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
I thought that Tagovailoa played well up to his injury. When you look at the box score, it looks absolutely horrible, god awful even, but if you watched the game, you know he was let down at every turn.
The pick on the first drive was a perfectly placed dart on third down that bounced off of Grant DuBose into the hands of the Bills for a pick and left the Dolphins defense with a short field that led to a touchdown.
On his second interception, Robbie Chosen didn’t run his route long enough and slipped at the end of it. The slip didn’t matter much because he was in the wrong spot. You could argue that it was an overthrown ball, but when I rewatch that play, if Tagovailoa had thrown the ball to where Chosen ended up, it would’ve been an easy pick for the sinking linebacker. Miscommunication with another practice squad receiver.
Targets that should be going to Odell Beckham Jr, River Cracraft, and Malik Washington are going to guys who shouldn’t see the field.
On his last interception, I put that squarely on Tagovailoa. The pressure gets in his face instantly off the left side, and he tries to chuck the ball out of bounds as he back peddles with a defender in his face. He does not have the strongest arm, and the ball does not make it out of bounds. It’s a weak floater that had a pick-six written all over it. He has to know when to take a sack, and that was obviously one of them.
Tagovailoa had a hard time on Thursday, but there was no separation from anyone outside of Waddle a few times and Achane on check-downs. He tried to make things happen with the other guys who don’t get much attention but couldn’t get on the same page, and it backfired horribly.
Although the team was down twenty-one, Tagovailoa was driving down the field toward a touchdown and made one of the biggest mistakes of his career. With his injury history, you’d think his first instinct would be to avoid contact. Even without his injury history, a quarterback of his size’s first instinct should also be to avoid contact. He didn’t do that and tried to run over a safety. Just slide.
I’m sure he thought it could be something that would energize his team, and it’s a split-second decision, but it was reckless and may have cost the Dolphins the season and possibly his football career.
He sustained a third documented concussion, causing his hand and arm to seize up. I feel that he’s had four, but only three documented. Tagovailoa’s future in football is unknown. If he opted to retire, no one would blame him. He has a whole life outside of football and a whole life after football. He’s a father, and coming from one, your kids are all that matters at the end of the day.
Tagovailoa will make a decision on his future this year once cleared. There’s always a chance that the NFL doesn’t clear him due to the severity of the concussions. Other players with more documented concussions playing more dangerous positions are still playing, so I think he will inevitably get cleared.
Concussion aside, this game was an embarrassment before the play that took Tagovailoa out.
The roster has a lack of depth on both sides of the trenches, injuries are starting to pile up, the defense still cannot stop Josh Allen, the play calling was suspect, receivers couldn’t get open, and the Dolphins cannot win in primetime.
That’s about as bad as it gets.
Let us know in the comments who you think should shoulder the blame for the loss to the Buffalo Bills.
