The Miami Dolphins offense simply doesn’t work when DeVante Parker is not healthy
DeVante Parker is hurt again, and without him Sunday, the Miami Dolphins’ offense had no chance.
Parker left Sunday’s 21-11 loss to the New England Patriots after either re-aggravating the troublesome left hamstring injury that cost him nearly two weeks of practice, or suffering a fresh injury to the right one.
Either way, it’s terrible news for the Dolphins’ passing game, which was lost without him.
Need proof?
Parker left Sunday’s game in the second quarter and did not return.
And yet he still led the team in catches (four) and receiving yards (47).
He caught every pass Ryan Fitzpatrick threw his way Sunday. On Fitzpatrick’s 26 other attempts, the Dolphins quarterback completed only 16 of them for 144 yards and threw three interceptions for a garish 36.9 passer rating.
And with Parker out, Stephon Gilmore and the loaded Patriots secondary were able to zero in on Preston Williams, who caught two of the seven passes thrown his way for 41 yards. Two of Fitzpatrick’s three picks came on throws to Williams, who was not made available to reporters after the game.
“That’s one of those things,” Fitzpatrick said. “DeVante started off doing some nice things. I’ve practiced with all of those other guys plenty. That’s something that happens every week in the National Football League. You don’t know who it’s going to be each week. But definitely can’t use that as an excuse. I’ve got to do a better job. We’ve got to find a way to get it done.”
When asked for an update on Parker after the game, Dolphins coach Brian Flores responded: “We’ll take a look at him over the course of the week. I don’t have a status update right now. Obviously he didn’t return. We’ll see what that looks like tomorrow and in the coming days.”
Myles Gaskin busts out
The Dolphins’ two-headed monster might have sprouted a third head.
With Jordan Howard struggling, Flores turned not to Matt Breida (who’s making $3.3 million this year and cost the Dolphins a fifth-round pick to acquire) but to Myles Gaskin (the 234th pick in the 2019 draft).
Gaskin responded by leading the Dolphins with 66 all-purpose yards on 13 touches.
“I think I’m always confident in football,” Gaskin said. “I played it all my life.”
Stretching back to last year, Gaskin has put three straight productive games together. Since Week 16 of the 2019 season, he has rushed for 138 yards and a touchdown on 34 carries (4.1 yards per carry).
Meanwhile, Howard on Sunday had seven yards on eight carries (he did have the team’s only touchdown). Breida, who played more in the second half than the first, was better. He went for 22 yards on five attempts.
“Myles has practiced well,” Flores said. “There’s a rotation there at the running back with Howard, Matt. [Patrick] Laird got a few snaps as well. He had a couple of good runs. Some good plays in the passing game as well, so we left him in there.”
Odds and ends
▪ Eleven Dolphins newcomers started Sunday: offensive linemen Austin Jackson, Ereck Flowers, Ted Karras and Solomon Kindley; running back Jordan Howard; defensive tackle Raekwon Davis; defensive ends Emmanuel Ogbah and Shaq Lawson; linebacker Elandon Roberts; cornerback Byron Jones and safety Brandon Jones.
Brandon Jones, who got a promotion and whose playing time came at Eric Rowe’s expense, was very active in his NFL debut with 10 tackles.
▪ Defensive tackle Christian Wilkins was a force in his first game of his second NFL season, recording a sack, two tackles for loss and two passes defensed.
▪ Jakeem Grant, who missed the last month of the 2019 season with an ankle injury, was the Dolphins’ kick and punt returner Sunday. He also caught three passes for 25 yards.
▪ Noah Igbinoghene (20 years, 291 days) became the youngest player to appear in a game in Dolphins history.
This story was originally published September 13, 2020 at 5:50 PM.
