Did the Dolphins abandon the running game in loss to Titans? Reviewing the disparity
On a dreary Sunday afternoon in Nashville that included rain and winds, maybe no player struggled with the elements in the Dolphins’ 34-3 loss to the Tennessee Titans as much as Tua Tagovailoa.
The second-year quarterback had 38 drop-backs, lost a fumble on a pass attempt and produced his lowest completion percentage this season for a game in which he started and finished. The Dolphins ended the game with just 16 rushing attempts, prompting criticism about the offense’s game plan and whether the team should have prioritized the run more during a game in which its young quarterback clearly struggled to manage the weather conditions.
Running back Duke Johnson, who in recent weeks has assumed the role of lead back, had seven carries for 49 yards in the first half but no attempts in the second half.
“That’s how the game ends up playing and we were pretty balanced,” co-offensive coordinator/tight ends coach George Godsey said. “We like to take out the third downs and two-minute [drill] and look at normal downs as far as the balance standpoint goes. ... Backed up to start [the second half] and we were able to move the ball with a couple of those [play-action passes]. So, we left it in that mode and kind of sputtered out right there around field-goal range. At the point where in the fourth quarter, we’re down multiple scores, there’s only one way to get back quickly. I don’t think it was a factor of not wanting to give them the ball, that’s for sure. It’s just kind of how the game played out.”
A review of Sunday’s game shows that Dolphins did, in fact, show a difference in tendency in the first half, compared to the entire season. The Dolphins throw the ball on first down 65.9 percent of the time, which only trails the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. However, against the Titans and with rain beginning to fall late in the first quarter, the Dolphins ran the ball on six of 10 first-down plays in the first half (This doesn’t include the final drive, which began with 3:18 left and was essentially a two-minute drill). Johnson had runs of 16, 14 and 11 on three of those first-down runs.
Counting just the early-down plays, as Godsey mentioned, the Dolphins ran the ball seven times on first and second downs in the first half and passed eight times. Despite the balance and success running the ball, the Dolphins had little to show for in the first two quarters; Tagovailoa’s fumble gave the Titans’ a short field that pushed the first-half deficit to 10 and the offense ran the ball on third-and-10 on a later drive, essentially playing for a field goal instead of throwing the ball in an obvious passing situation.
In the second half, the Dolphins were at the mercy of bad field position and a dwindling game clock. The offense’s first possession began at their 2-yard line and down 17-3 with 9:31 left in the third quarter. The offense ran on just one of its five first-down plays in the drive, threw six times on early downs and ran just twice — with Myles Gaskin — on early downs. It was one of Tagovailoa’s best possessions all afternoon, though; he completed three passes of 10 or more yards but was sacked on a third-down drop-back that forced kicker Jason Sanders to attempt a 53-yard field goal, which he missed.
The Dolphins got the ball back at their 7-yard line, still down 17-3 but now with just 14:51 remaining in the game. The offense went pass-heavy on this drive, dropping back on all 10 plays, including a trick play that had tight end Mike Gesicki attempt a pass. This possession got as far as the Titans’ 27 but ended after a questionable no-call on cornerback Janoris Jenkins, who appeared to interfere with wide receiver DeVante Parker before the ball arrived.
The Titans scored after the turnover on downs, taking a 24-3 lead with 7:42, a situation in which the Dolphins had no choice to solely pass for the remainder of the game.
In-game adjustments are impacted by the game flow as much as they are by weather, injuries or anything else. The first half of the deflating loss told the story of a team that tried to establish the run before the game got out of hand.
“The weather’s always going to be a factor. We know it down [in Miami],” Godsey said. “So, we didn’t execute. Probably could have called some calls that put our guys in a better position, too. So, I think a lot of those we’d like to have back, the way we executed or called the game.”
This story was originally published January 4, 2022 at 2:24 PM.
