Dolphins play their best game of the year, but fall to 2-6.
ORCHARD PARK – As the Miami Dolphins players shook hands with the Buffalo Bills and walked off the field after their 30-27 defeat, there had to be a sense of mixed emotions.
On one hand, the Dolphins lost five of their last six games and ten of their previous fourteen games dating back to their Monday night debacle last year against the Tennessee Titans.
On the other hand, the Dolphins offense just played its best two offensive games of the season with almost perfect play from Tua Tagovailoa. Both ended in losses, but both games came down to the wire, with the Bills game ending in a 61-yard field goal.
Deja Vu
It was the same story for both games. The offense ran long, methodical drives while the defense started strong but was figured out and exploited in the second half. As good as the Dolphins’ defense has been up to the last two games, they have yet to stop or even contain an offense led by a quarterback with above-average mobility.
In the last three games with Tagovailoa starting, the defense has given up an average of 29 points per game, with two of those losses coming to Josh Allen. We can look past the defensive faults for the first loss to the Bills due to several first-half turnovers, but these last two games can’t be forgiven.
The Dolphins’ offense did their job in both games, either having the lead late in the fourth quarter against the Cardinals or tying the game with less than two minutes left against the Bills. All that was left was for the defense to make a stand.
I know fans and media act like injuries are just an excuse, but the Dolphins are cursed with the injury bug for as long as I care to remember, and this game was no different.
Yes, the defense let Josh Allen walk up and down the field, but they were down five starters, including Jaelan Phillips, Bradley Chubb, Jevon Holland, Zach Sieler, and Kader Kohou. It’s nearly impossible to contain top offenses when you don’t have the horses in every unit.
You end up with Marcus Maye instead of Jevon Holland, who whiffed the third down tackle on Kyler Murray late against the Cardinals that would’ve set the Dolphins up in a two-minute drill to kick a field goal for the win, and whiffed on rookie Ray Davis in the open field when he went for his 63-yard touchdown. If that’s Holland, we could be possibly looking at two wins instead of two losses, and that’s just one example.
Nearly Perfect
On the offensive side, there’s not much to point to for blame, as previously stated, but the lone turnover in each game while up proved costly for the Dolphins.
With the Cardinals, the bad snap-and-catch from center Aaron Brewer to Tua Tagovailoa changed the game from the Dolphins driving to go up seventeen points to the Dolphins being up eight points and giving the ball back to the Cardinals.
With the Bills, Raheem Mostert’s fumble stopped the Dolphins from potentially going up eleven points to a momentum swing that ended up with the Dolphins being down two points a few minutes later.
It’s the shooting themselves in the foot that keeps the Dolphins from getting over the hump against elite competition.
The best teams play complementary football, and the Dolphins haven’t been able to put it together on both sides this year.
It’s hard to point fingers with this loss. The defense got run through by Josh Allen, but they’re playing without half of their starters. It’s just one of those games where you take the tough L on the chin and not let it the next game. Just turn the page.
Silver Lining
While the Dolphins are 2-6 and the season is up to its chin in quicksand, there are positives to be pointed out.
The Dolphins offense has been fantastic the last two weeks and methodically walked up and down the field on the Bills and Cardinals. The offensive line is now a strength of the team, and credit to Chris Grier and offensive line coach Butch Barry for sticking with their guys because they’ve been dominant these last two games. Mike McDaniel had his best game as a play-caller and has figured out how to stay balanced while leaning on the running game. Tons of positives.
Their next several games all come against less mobile quarterbacks, and the defense could turn it around without the worry of a scrambling quarterback on every passing play.
Though the Dolphins look down and out, a four-game win streak puts them back at .500.
Crazier things have happened.
Let us know in the comments who you think is to blame for the loss to the Buffalo Bills.
