Extra points: 6 more thoughts on the Dolphins’ offensive game plan, what needs to change
The Miami Dolphins’ ugly start to the 2021 NFL season hit a new low point Sunday with a 27-17 loss to the previously winless Indianapolis Colts at Hard Rock Stadium.
The loss drops the Dolphins into a tie with the New York Jets for last place in the division. Here are 10 more thoughts on what happened in Miami Gardens:
1. The Dolphins offense is bordering on historically bad... Miami had 168 net passing yards Sunday, dropping its season average to 173.8 yards per game. In the last 10 years, only five offenses have averaged fewer net passing yards per game.
Things could easily be worse, too. The Dolphins had only 62 net passing yards through three quarters Sunday and had only 79 through three quarters last Sunday. In both games, Miami was down big and finally started taking shots out of necessity.
There’s plenty of blame to go around — the offensive line is bad, the play-calling is conservative, the wide receivers are inconsistent — but the quarterback play has dropped off significantly since Tua Tagovailoa injured his ribs in Week 2. Quarterback Jacoby Brissett’s passes are traveling an average of 1.4 yards shorter than Tagovailoa’s and he’s hanging onto the ball for 0.17 seconds longer per dropback, according to Next Gen Stats.
“We try to take a methodical approach early,” coach Brian Flores said. “We did have some shot plays early. They covered them. We had to check them down and we weren’t able to push it down the field as much as we wanted to early in the game.”
2. ...so let it fly. Until the Dolphins fell behind 20-3 at the beginning the fourth quarter, Brissett had officially attempted only one deep pass and he had 76 passing yards on 20 attempts.
In the fourth quarter, he went deep four times, completed all of them for 111 yards and the offense finally opened up. Miami scored twice as Brissett went 8 of 10 for 123 yards and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter.
“Early on, there was definitely some shot plays there that ended up getting checked down,” Flores said. “We need to do more of it.”
It was startlingly similar to last Sunday, when the Dolphins played three quarters of abject offense against the Las Vegas Raiders, and fell behind by 11 before opening up the offense and rallying to force overtime in Las Vegas. In Vegas, Brissett didn’t attempt a single deep pass in the first half, then threw seven in the fourth quarter and overtime to close 17 of 26 for 127 yards.
3. Special teams crushed a comeback attempt. Special teams errors played in a key role in 17 Colts points Sunday.
In the second quarter, Miami forced a punt at Indianapolis’ 40, but linebacker Brennan Scarlett jumped offside on fourth-and-3 to extend the Colts’ drive. Indianapolis scored touchdown four plays later to go ahead 7-3.
In the third quarter, wide receiver Jakeem Grant muffed a punt, letting the Colts take over at the Dolphins’ 18. Indianapolis kicked a field goal four plays later to stretch its lead to 17-3.
Miami even screwed up a kickoff in the fourth quarter. After the Dolphins finally scored their first touchdown to cut the Colts’ lead to 20-10 with 10:46 remaining, kicker Jason Sanders booted a kickoff out of bounds, letting Indianapolis start its drive at its own 40. The Colts delivered the dagger with a touchdown eight plays later.
“We’ve got to play complementary football in this league,” Flores said. “We have not been able to do that and a lot of it is basic fundamentals.”
4. The defense didn’t help. The offense was most to blame and special teams only made negative contributions Sunday, but this was a full three-phase loss.
This is not the 2020 Miami defense.
Last year, the Dolphins gave up 367.9 yards per game and 21.1 points. This year, they’re giving up 388.3 and 27.3.
The takeaway rate is down slightly — Miami did extend its league-best streak to 26 games Sunday, although it came off a muffed punt rather than because of something the defense did — and the run defense now ranks among the worst in the league after giving up at least 4 yards per carry for the fourth straight game.
Last year, opponents’ average drive started at the 26.4-yard line. This year, opponents are starting at the 29 on average. The margin for error has shrunk for this defense, so the 20-yard difference in yards per game is equating to a touchdown.
5. Jaylen Watch: Jaylen Waddle caught three passes for 33 yards on the Dolphins’ first two possessions, showing off his ability to generate yards after the catch by turning a pair of short passes into gains of 18 and 10, then did nothing else the rest of the way while the offense stagnated. The rookie wide receiver, who was a first-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, accounted for 33 of Miami’s 57 first-half receiving yards.
The Dolphins still have not found a way to create any real explosive plays for him, mostly because they can’t create explosive plays for anyone. Brissett only attempted five deep passes Sunday and none to Waddle.
6. Jaelan Watch: Jaelan Phillips, Miami’s other first-round pick this year, had his best game as a professional, notching his first half sack when he combined with linebacker Sam Eguavoen to get to Indianapolis quarterback Carson Wentz on third down to force a punt in the first quarter. The rookie linebacker finished with two tackles and three quarterback hits, although he did commit a costly penalty in the third quarter, jumping offsides on third-and-11 in the red zone to give the Colts a more manageable third-and-6. They converted and later scored a touchdown.
Phillips nearly had another sack in the fourth quarter when he got to Wentz in the red zone, although he was flagged for a phantom facemask call to extend another drive. Again, Indianapolis scored off the penalty.
This story was originally published October 3, 2021 at 6:27 PM.
