Old problems continue to fester for Dolphins in 27-17 home loss to Colts
If the Dolphins’ Week 4 home game against the winless Indianapolis Colts on Sunday was supposed to be a get-right afternoon for a team coming off two straight defeats, it was anything but that at Hard Rock Stadium.
Old problems continued to fester for the Dolphins in a 27-17 defeat that dropped them to 1-3 and raised more concerns about the team, even with starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa reportedly nearing his return from a rib injury.
An offense struggling to put together scoring drives again waited too long to generate explosive plays, accumulating 203 net yards and just 91 by the end of the third quarter when the team trailed 17-3. A defense that has struggled to maintain the form of its 2020 play allowed 139 rushing yards and 5.2 yards per play to a Colts (1-3) offense that entered the game ranked in the bottom half of the league in most statistical categories. And a team that has been known under head coach Brian Flores to play smart, disciplined football committed a handful of untimely penalties and mistakes, which included two turnovers that led to 10 points for the opposing team.
“For long enough periods of time we are inconsistent,” Flores said. “We can’t string plays together. When we do string plays together, there’s a penalty or a drop that sets us back or a penalty defensively and then, you know, instead of being off the field, we’re back on the field or a penalty in the kicking game instead of getting the ball, we give it back to them. I mean, there’s a lot of things that aren’t connected. We got to play complementary football in this league. We have not been able to do that, and a lot of it is basic fundamentals, watching the ball, keeping your hands down and away from the face mask area or the face area. I mean, there are things that are correctable, that have been correctable, and we need to correct.”
Fourteen of the Dolphins’ 17 points came in the fourth quarter as they attempted to erase a 17-point deficit and their sole points of the first half, a 38-yard field goal by kicker Jason Sanders in the first quarter, was aided by a fumble recovery at the Colts 27 after Nyheim Hines muffed a punt.
Of the Dolphins’ six first-half possessions, two started at the Colts’ 27 and midfield, while another moved as close as the Colts’ 37. Miami had just 69 net yards by halftime, which mercilessly ended by right tackle Liam Eichenberg allowing a sack. It was one of three sacks and four quarterback hits allowed by an offensive line that struggled again and was playing with its fourth starting combination after center Michael Deiter was placed on injured reserve Saturday.
When Flores was asked what he thinks the solution to the offensive issues were, from changes to the co-offensive coordinator system to on-field personnel, he didn’t provide a direct answer but said, “I think we have to take a look at everything.”
Four plays after linebacker Brennan Scarlett was flagged for an offside penalty on a fourth-and-3 punt, extending a Colts drive, Jonathan Taylor scored on a 23-yard run to give Indianapolis a 7-3 lead with 2:47 left in the first half.
A muffed punt by wide receiver Jakeem Grant, recovered by the Colts at the Miami 18, turned into a 1-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Carson Wentz to tight end Mo Allie-Cox to push the Indianapolis lead to 14-3 in the third quarter.
The Dolphins cut into a 20-3 deficit with an eight-play, 75-yard drive that ended in a 1-yard touchdown pass to tight end Mike Gesicki, making it a 10-point margin with under 11 minutes remaining. The possession includes a pair of jump-ball completions from quarterback Jacoby Brissett to wide receiver DeVante Parker, the type of downfield passing that has been missing from the offense in the first three quarters of recent games.
“There are definitely opportunities,” said Brissett, who completed 20 of 30 passes for 199 yards and two touchdowns. “Sometimes when we call them, they really just push back and they forced us to throw the ball underneath. We started to find ways or tried to, but it will come. Whenever they come, they’ll start coming in bunches because we have the guys to push the ball down the field.”
Four games into the Dolphins’ third season under Flores, the team is 1-3, as it was in a 2020 campaign that finished with 10 wins and a near playoff appearance. But unlike 2020, the 2021 season was supposed to bear the fruits of a multi-year strip-down and rebuild that included a mass collection of draft capital, use of said capital and an abundance of salary cap space.
Instead, the Dolphins find themselves watching their season quickly unravel with an in-state trip to Tampa Bay to face the defending Super Bowl champion Buccaneers next week before a London trip to face the Jacksonville Jaguars where Tagovailoa could potentially make his return to the field.
“I would just say we’re all disappointed because we worked so hard,” said defensive lineman Christian Wilkins, who recorded seven tackles. “We’re a tight team. We all like each other. We’ve been building since the offseason. We know we’ve got a good group so it’s just a little disappointing because we know we’re better than what we have been proving and doing. So, I mean that’s not to say — it doesn’t mean we haven’t always played well enough to win but we’re not getting the results we want. So, we just have to figure out some things and then go from there.”
This story was originally published October 3, 2021 at 4:07 PM.
