Same old Dolphins.
The Miami Dolphins’ playoff hopes were ended on Monday night, following a 15-28 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 15. The team will now miss the playoffs for the second consecutive season, after making the playoffs in back-to-back seasons in 2022 and 2023.
Against the Steelers, the Dolphins looked timid, sloppy, and at times, even apathetic. Here’s three reasons why they weren’t able to win the game.
1. The Tua Problem
Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is perhaps the most polarizing player on the Dolphins, if not the league.
But last night, there was nothing polarizing about his performance. He was bad, end of story. On Miami’s first few possessions, they looked very good. Running back De’Von Achane was finding holes, picking up first downs and moving the chains.
Then, came Tua’s weekly “arm punt”, shown below.
Drive after drive, any moment in which the Dolphins had to rely on Tua’s arm, they faltered. Save for a few garbage time touchdowns, Tua could not muster up anything through the air. He also took four sacks on the night, all of which were completely avoidable. He has been a problem for the team all season, and Monday night was no different. Swap the two quarterbacks on the field, and perhaps last night goes a little differently for Miami.
2. Break, Don’t Bend
We’ve all heard the saying, “bend, don’t break”. On defense, you can give up yards, you can give give up field goals, but don’t give up touchdowns.
Against the Steelers, Miami’s defense did the exact opposite of that. They gave up four touchdowns to a struggling Steelers offense, two of which came in the red zone on either side of halftime. Had the Dolphins held the Steelers to instead of 14, maybe they don’t come out throwing in the second half. Maybe they don’t have to abandon the run game so early, which has been their bread and butter over the last four games.
But alas, that was not the case. Down 14-3, the Dolphins had to rely on Tua’s arm to move the chains. Of course, that has not been a recipe for success for quite some time now.
3. Giving Up Is Not…Er, IS An Option?
To put it bluntly, the Miami Dolphins simply gave up on Monday night.
Late in the fourth quarter, down 28-9, Miami’s offense finally found a spark. They were moving the chains, picking up chunk plays here and there, and gradually wearing down a stout Steelers defense. Except, there was one problem—they were running out of time.
Although the Dolphins eventually did score twice, courtesy of two touchdown catches by tight end Darren Waller, they showed no urgency to get to that point. They refused to go no-huddle, let the clock run down, and equally did not call any timeouts on defense.
Announcer Troy Aikman was equally shocked to see the Dolphins let time run off the clock, seemingly without a care in the world. It’s unclear what head coach Mike McDaniel’s plan was, but Dolphins were certainly not playing to win in that fourth quarter.
Only on the team’s last drive, with 2:04 left in the game, did the Dolphins show any urgency. But of course, that was too little, too late.
Next Week
Next week, the 6-8 Dolphins will take on the 4-10 Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals are coming off a 0-24 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 15. This game was originally scheduled for Sunday night, but has been flexed to 1:00 PM, now that both teams have been eliminated from playoff contention
What did you think of how the Dolphins played in Week 15? Do major changes need to be made? Let us know down below!
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