Dolphins lose Bridgewater to concussion protocols in 40-17 loss to Jets
Ten days after quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was knocked out of a Week 4 game because of a concussion, the Dolphins lost another quarterback to concussion protocols in their 40-17 loss to the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Teddy Bridgewater was ruled out of Sunday’s game after the first offensive play due to the league’s new concussion protocol. The development only added more insult to the second consecutive defeat for the Dolphins (3-2), who entered Week 4 as one of two undefeated teams remaining in the NFL but after the loss dropped to third place in the AFC East, behind the Jets (3-2) and first-place Buffalo Bills.
With seventh-round pick Skylar Thompson in the game for all but one possession, the Dolphins, who never led in the game, had the opportunity for a lead early in the fourth quarter, trailing 19-17.
But kicker Jason Sanders sent a 54-yard field goal wide right and the Jets scored 21 unanswered points to get their first victory over Miami since Dec. 8, 2019.
Thompson, who was active for his second game and playing in his first regular-season game, completed 19 of 33 passes for 166 yards and one interception. He also lost a fumble on a sack in the fourth quarter. An offense that was one of the league’s most explosive units in the first month of the season was uneven Sunday, outside of running back Raheem Mostert’s season-high 113 rushing yards, with multiple procedural penalties and a pair of turnovers.
“It’s a jarring situation,” Thompson said. “The first play to see Teddy go down and whatnot. I kind of knew it wasn’t going to be perfect right off the bat, but I definitely felt like there was times where it was slowing down. I was able to see the defense, see what was going on, being able to make decisive reads, put the ball where I wanted to, but there’s still a lot there. I’m looking forward to watching it on film.”
On the team’s first offensive play, rookie cornerback Sauce Gardner slammed Bridgewater into the ground, a hit that would place the Dolphins back into a discussion of the league’s concussion protocols for the second consecutive game. Bridgewater, who threw the pass in the end zone, was flagged for intentional grounding, awarding the Jets a safety and two points.
But Bridgewater, who left the game with an elbow injury and to be evaluated for a head injury, went to the locker room for further examination and was later ruled out after an independent certified athletic trainer (ATC) spotter in the press box saw him stumble and diagnosed him with ataxia, the league’s new no-go symptom that rules out a player suspected of a head injury. This kept Bridgewater, a Miami native, out of his first start for his hometown team even though he passed the concussion evaluation.
With Bridgewater sidelined and a rookie leading the offense for most of the afternoon, the Dolphins saw their promising 3-0 start continue to unravel with injuries, mistakes on offense and a defense that wasn’t able to force key turnovers — a trait it’s been known for over the past few seasons.
Injuries not only kept Bridgewater and Tagovailoa, who did not travel with the team, sidelined but cornerback Xavien Howard, who missed his first game of the season because of a lingering injury to his groin muscles. Left tackle Terron Armstead exited the game on the offense’s second drive and did not return because of a lingering toe injury. Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said Armstead is staying in New York to receive more evaluation on the injury, which he initially sustained in Week 1.
A 79-yard catch-and-run by rookie running back Breece Hall, a play in which no Dolphins defender followed him out of the backfield, set up a 1-yard run by Michael Carter in the second quarter, putting the Dolphins behind 12-0. The Dolphins mainly kept the Jets offense in check — New York accumulated 322 total yards — but was plagued by untimely penalties, missed tackles and a lack of momentum-swinging plays.
“It’s not nearly to the point of our expectations for sure,” McDaniel said of the defense. “It’s something we have to figure out a way as a coaching staff and as players collectively to try to right that ship because there is a big component of this defense that we expect as a coaching staff to get turnovers. We’ll address it with a fine-tooth comb to see if we can improve that for sure.”
The Dolphins scored on a 12-yard run by Mostert and a 1-yard run by tight end Durham Smythe with five seconds left in the second quarter, trailing 19-14 at halftime.
Sanders’ 46-yard field goal in the third quarter closed the Dolphins’ deficit to two, 19-17, but the Jets cemented their victory with a flurry of points in the final quarter, as McDaniel said the “wheels fell off.”
After Sanders’ fourth-quarter miss with 13:15 left in the game, the Jets scored on touchdowns run by Hall, Carter and wide receiver Braxton Berrios.
Entering a Week 6 home game against the Minnesota Vikings, the Dolphins not only face questions about how they will turn around a two-game losing streak but with whom.
At one point on Sunday, the Dolphins’ offense was without its top-two quarterbacks, offensive tackles and receiver, as Tyreek Hill exited in the fourth quarter with a foot injury. He was seen in the postgame locker room with a walking boot on his left foot but downplayed the severity of his injury.
On defense, the Dolphins’ top cornerbacks Howard and Byron Jones, integral players in the unit’s philosophy, weren’t on the field.
“I think our team in general doesn’t look at it like we’re a one-man savior at any spot,” McDaniel said.
The accumulation of injuries, though, only exacerbated the issues for a team that couldn’t lean on what it found success with in its three victories.
“It’s early. That’s why it’s 17 weeks,” inside linebacker Elandon Roberts said. “You can’t really put your team in a category so early. We just have to keep on with the blueprint that Mike put around the team, and he’s doing a great job with that. And we keep on, keep on, and you’ll be alright.”
This story was originally published October 9, 2022 at 4:14 PM.
