In this weekly column, I outline three reasons why the Dolphins won or lost their previous game, and provide a short preview for next week’s game.
Well, that was…something.
The Miami Dolphins lost for the second consecutive week in a row, in a soul-crushing 27-33 defeat to the New England Patriots. The Dolphins are now 0-2 for the first time since 2020, when head coach Brian Flores was still running the show.
Here’s three reasons why the Dolphins simply didn’t have enough to win on Sunday.
Reason 1: No Gas, All Brakes
Under head coach Mike McDaniel, the Dolphins have seldom passed up the opportunity to turn games into track meets. One score after another, after another, after another. 7 becomes 14, 14 becomes 21, 21 becomes 24, and before you know it, the Dolphins have put up 30+ points and are running away with the game.
However, this was not the case on Sunday. After impressively overturning a 0-12 deficit to take a 17-15 lead early in the third quarter, Miami’s offense simply ran out of gas. The team didn’t manage a single offensive touchdown in the second half, settling for two field goals and a 74-yard punt return for a touchdown, courtesy of sophomore speedster Malik Washington.
A turning point in the game came in the third quarter, with the Dolphins facing 1st & 10 at the Patriots’ 19-yard-line. A 16-yard catch and run by the aforementioned Washington was called back for a holding penalty, courtesy of center Aaron Brewer. Two negative plays and a crucial third-down sack later, the Dolphins were suddenly staring down the barrel of 4th & 17. The Dolphins could’ve been up 24-15, but settled for a field goal to make it 20-15.
Mistakes of that magnitude simply cannot happen in those moments. Every drive is a key drive, every play is a key play, but that isn’t what I saw from the Dolphins. The urgency just wasn’t there, and it cost the them dearly.
Reason 2: Tua Tagovailoa Isn’t The Guy
Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was bad on Sunday. Like, really bad.
Tua finished the game 26/32 (81%), threw for two touchdowns, and racked up a passer rating of 115.5. Solid, right?
No, not solid at all. Don’t let the box score fool you, because it very well might. Though he managed to rack up some empty numbers, he took five sacks on the day, and threw an interception late in the game that ended Miami’s hopes of staging a late comeback.
If you think I’m being harsh, I’m not, and here’s proof.
On the game’s final drive, with the Dolphins facing 3rd & 12 at the Patriots 28-yard-line, Tua dropped back, escaped pressure, looked downfield…and ran out of bounds for zero yards. Oh, and then he took a sack on the following play.
Yes, that really happened.
And that’s the problem with Tua, because those are the moments in which you show us that you deserve every cent of that contract. And unfortunately, not only did he not show that on Sunday, he’s rarely shown that across his entire Dolphins career.
It’s Year 5. The time for excuses has passed. You got your coach. You got your weapons. You got paid. Prove that you’re worth it. Prove that you can step up. Prove to us that you can singlehandedly take over a game. If you can’t do that, maybe you aren’t the guy.
Reason 3: Defense (Optional)
Coming into the season, we knew Miami’s defense was going to be bad.
However, I don’t think anyone knew it’d be this bad.
For the second week in a row, Miami’s defense surrendered 33 points to a middling offense. They allowed a 58.3% conversion rate on third down, worst across the entire NFL in Week 2. To open the game, they allowed the Patriots to score on back-to-back drives, meaning that the defense has allowed points on 13 straight drives to open the season.
There’s enough blame to go around, but most of the fingers should be pointed at Miami’s secondary, which has more holes than Switzerland’s finest cheese. Miami’s front-seven was paraded around as one of the league’s best coming into the season, but managed just three sacks against a weak Patriots offensive line.
On paper, the talent is there. On grass, not so much.
Week 3 Preview:
The Dolphins are on a short week this week, and will travel up north in Week 3 to take on the 2-0 Buffalo Bills on Thursday Night Football, who are coming off a 30-10 blowout victory over the New York Jets in Week 2. Bills quarterback Josh Allen is 12-2 against the Dolphins in his career, and has never lost against them at home.
If alarm bells aren’t already ringing in South Florida, they very well may be on Friday morning.
What did you make of Miami’s performance in Week 2? Is it time to clean house? Give us your thoughts in the comments below!
