The Seattle Seahawks blew out the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. Who from Miami saw their stock rise or fall during the game?
Wow. That was ugly. The Miami Dolphins never showed up during Sunday’s 24-3 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. The loss dropped Miami to 1-2 on the season, the first time in Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel’s career that he has been below the .500 mark. Miami’s Week 3 game is one that fans need to forget – but the team needs to continue to see because it was not good enough.
Across the board, Miami struggled during the game, especially on offense. The defense made enough plays to keep the team within reach of the Seahawks, keeping Seattle from scoring in the second and third quarters, forcing turnovers, and making stops. The offense could not capitalize on any of the advantages the defense provided them, and Miami deserved to lose the game.
Who saw their stock rise during the game? Who had some struggles that hurt their stock rating? We react to the performances from throughout the contest.
Stock Up
Zach Sieler and Calais Campbell, defensive tackle – I am going to group these two together because the pair has been dominant together in the middle of the Miami defense. Sieler recorded three tackles, a sack, and an interception on Sunday while Campbell had three tackls, a sack, two quarterback hits, and a pass defensed (deflecting the ball Sieler intercepted). After the game, I saw a meme on X insinuating that the Dolphins defense is missing Christian Wilkins, the defensive tackle who signed with the Las Vegas Raiders in free agency this year. That seems false. There are a lot of issues with Miami right now, but Sieler and Campbell are not a part of that list.
Stock Down
Skylar Thompson, quarterback – I do not want to kick Thompson while he is down, the with the quarterback sustaining a ribs/chest injury during the game and being forced out, but before the injury, he simply was not playing well. He was taking too long to make a decision, with the game looking too fast for him still. He finished 13-for-19 for 107 yards. A 5.6 yards per attempt average just adds to the frustration of the Dolphins’ offense not looking to use its speed to open up the top of the defense. Thompson is in his third season and has been a developmental project since he was drafted in the seventh round in 2022, but he played like a developmental project on Sunday.
Tyreek Hill, wide receiver – Do you remember Hill doing anything on Sunday? I think the most memorable moment was when he let a bubble screen pass bounce off his hands. The All-Pro wide receiver did not have any impact on this game. He finished with a team-high 40 receiving yards, but I honestly cannot think of any reception he made. With quarterback Tua Tagovailoa injured, Miami needs their top players to step up – but Hill did not do that this week.
Durham Smythe, tight end – Smythe just seems to be regressing this year. He was targeted twice, pulling in one pass for three yards. His second target was in the back of the endzone, with the tight end able to get his hands on the ball as he dove but could not hold on to it as he hit the ground. This is not a rating based on that one play, but it feels like Smythe is a forgotten piece of the offense right now.
Julian Hill, tight end – While Smythe has been disappearing, Hill stands out for the wrong reasons. He continues to draw flags, both on offense and on special teams. Hill needs to see his playing time drop, potentially adding more playing time for Smythe to get him back on the other side of this rating.
Robert Jones, guard – This might not be fair as a lot of the offensive line struggled during the game, especially with penalties. Jones, however, stood out as someone struggling more than the rest of the group.
Mike McDaniel, head coach – In 2023, the Dolphins averaged 401 yards per game on offense and scored 29.2 points per game. In 2024, they are averaging 318.7 yards per game and 11 points. The last two weeks have been miserable when you consider Miami racked up 400 yards of offense in Week 1 against the Jacksonville Jaguars while scoring 20 points. McDaniel’s high-octane offense is not playing like a high-octane offense. It feels like he is trying to prove his creativity by changing what worked for Miami last year, but it is not working this year. The game plans, the in-game decisions, the clock management, the undisciplined mistakes, and the play calling have not been up to par through the first three weeks of 2024. Even considering Tagovailoa’s injury, the Dolphins had ten days to prepare for the Seahawks game, and it looked like they were going through a walkthrough for much of Sunday. Unacceptable.
