Defense has been Dolphins’ strength during surprising run. It fell flat against Titans
D’Onta Foreman took the direct snap at midfield and ran forward. He darted through the Miami Dolphins’ defensive line virtually untouched and making it 35 yards down the field with four defenders behind him before finally being brought down.
Two plays later, Ryan Tannehill rolled to his right for a play-action pass and lofted a 15-yard touchdown to tight end Anthony Firkser, who
Touchdown Tennessee Titans.
And essentially the beginning of the end for Miami’s playoff hopes.
The Dolphins lost 34-3, a final score that ballooned with Miami giving up 17 points in the final 7:46 at Nissan Stadium, starting with that touchdown pass from Tannehill to Firkser.
But Miami’s defensive woes were evident all day Sunday, and it came at arguably the most inopportune time.
The Dolphins’ defense had been the team’s backbone and at times the saving grace during its seven-game win streak that saw Miami go from 1-7 to unlikely potential playoff team.
And then... Sunday happened.
“We just didn’t play well enough,” defensive lineman Christian Wilkins said.
The numbers behind that?
198: The total rushing yards Miami gave up. That’s a season high and the most since Week 1 of the 2020 season (217 against the New England Patriots).
Freeman ran for 132 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries, and Damian Hillard added a 39-yard rushing touchdown with two minutes left to cap scoring.
“Their coaches put them in really good positions when it came to how to get everyone blocked up,” safety Brandon Jones said. “The running backs did a really good job of getting it vertical, whether it was a designed run, outside zone. They did really good job of finding the hole.”
Coach Brian Flores added: “We had some missed tackles. We had some guys out of gaps. They took advantage. We’ve got to do a better job.”
34: The third-most points Miami has surrendered this season behind 45 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 5 and 35 to the Buffalo Bills in Week 2.
308: The second-most yards Miami has allowed since the win streak began.
1: Number of sacks Miami recorded Sunday, a third-down stop from the blind side by Jerome Baker.
0: Turnovers forced, the fourth time Miami’s defense was held without a takeaway this season.
“It always comes back to fundamentals and technique,” Flores said. “Tackling, breaking tackles, blocking guys, defeating blocks. ... We have a plan, but at the end of the day that’s really what football boils down to. We’ve got to take care of those fundamentals. We had some miscommunication issues as well. It’s against a good team. Got to take care of all those little things or else they take advantage.”
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