Extra points: The Miami Dolphins’ win streak is over. What went wrong in Titans loss?
Well, it was fun while it lasted.
The Miami Dolphins’ seven-game win streak came to a crumbling end with a 34-3 loss to the Tennessee Titans on Sunday at Nissan Stadium.
What was building up to be the Cinderella story of the NFL season now ends with another missed trip to the postseason.
Here are six more thoughts from the Dolphins’ loss.
The Dolphins needed to be perfect down the stretch. They weren’t on Sunday.
Miami put itself in this position. The seven-game losing streak had them on the cusp of elimination before the calendar turned to November.
And then the wins kept coming, one after another, until Miami somehow found itself back in playoff contention. All the Dolphins needed to do was win two more after rattling off seven consecutive wins to get to that point.
It came crashing down on Sunday.
Down by 10 a minute into the second quarter. Just three points put on the board. Miscues from all over the field. Failing to adapt to the wet and cold conditions.
Was the win streak a mirage?
Winning seven consecutive games is no easy feat, regardless of the opponents in that stretch.
That said, the Dolphins’ run included two wins over the New York Jets and one each over the Houston Texans, Baltimore Ravens, Carolina Panthers, New York Giants and New Orleans Saints.
The combined records of those six teams entering Sunday: 32-58.
Only the Ravens, at 8-7 before their loss to the Bears on Sunday, had a winning record among that group. The Saints, the only other team with more than five wins from those half-dozen teams, had almost two dozen players on the COVID-19 list when the Dolphins played them.
The Titans are far and away a better team than any of those six. Tennessee won the AFC South with its win over Miami and is in contention to clinch the No. 1 spot in the conference standings depending on how Week 18 plays out.
The offense couldn’t get going — and the discussion about Tua Tagovailoa’s future in Miami is once again a talking point.
The quarterback’s final line on Sunday: 18 for 38, 205 yards, no touchdowns, one interception, three sacks and three fumbles (including one lost).
Forty-five of Tagovailoa’s 205 passing yards came on one play — a deep pass to Jaylen Waddle in the fourth quarter that got the Dolphins just outside the Titans’ red zone with about 12 minutes left to play and down by two scores.
It was a rare highlight for the Dolphins on Sunday, only for
What followed?
First-down sack and fumble, with the Dolphins recovering. A short pass on second down for one yard. A third-down incompletion to DeVante Parker on a deep ball. And a fourth-down incompletion to Parker for a turnover on downs.
The Dolphins needed him — and the offense overall — to put up a big performance in a big-time matchup.
It didn’t happen.
When asked if people should be wrong to doubt him and if he’s the quarterback who can eventually lead the Dolphins to the playoffs, Tagovailoa responded: “People have their own opinions. I’ve heard this the entire time I’ve been here. At the end of the day, I can control what I can control, and that’s to be the best version of myself for this team. We’ve got to move on to the next game at this point. We’ll look at the mistakes that we’ve made, make some corrections and move on.”
Waddle’s chance for the NFL’s rookie receptions record will come down to the final week of the season.
Waddle caught three of the seven passes that came his way for 47 yards, with 45 coming on one play. It was tied for the second-fewest catches Waddle has had in a game this season.
He now has 99 catches on the season, two shy of tying and three shy of breaking Anquan Boldin’s rookie record of 101 catches set in 2003.
The backbone of Miami’s win streak — its defense — floundered in big situations.
Even without Derrick Henry or Julio Jones, the Titans still racked up 308 yards of offense against the Dolphins — the second-most Miami has allowed since its win streak began.
The 198 rushing yards Miami gave up? That’s a season high.
The Dolphins only recorded one sack and didn’t generate a turnover.
With the offense struggling, the last thing Miami could have afforded was a defensive breakdown.
Special teams hurt Miami early, too.
Michael Palardy averaged just 36.8 yards per punt and pinned the Titans inside their 20-yard line just once.
Jason Sanders went 1 for 2 on field goals — his 39-yard make resulting in Miami’s only points while his 53-yard miss in the third quarter coming after Tagovailoa took an 8-yard sack one play earlier.
And the Titans pinned Miami inside its 20 on three of its four punts, including one in the third quarter that had Miami starting at its 2 yard line and another at its 7.
six average starting field position on Sunday was its 20-yard line.
The Titans? Their 43, including four drives that began in Dolphins territory (Tennessee scored on all four of those drives).
This story was originally published January 2, 2022 at 5:58 PM.
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