Quickie reaction: Disappointment sandwich for Dolphins served cold in Buffalo | Opinion
This was disappointing. No other way to say it.
It wasn’t so much that the Dolphins were unable to come away from their season-finale with a victory that would have guaranteed a trip to the NFL postseason. It wasn’t that Miami must rely on the Indianapolis Colts losing Sunday afternoon to give the Dolphins a playoff berth.
It was that this team never showed up on Sunday.
The Dolphins were out-classed by the Buffalo Bills in every way imaginable this game.
And this defeat was not only bad for its outcome, it was scary for what it said about the Dolphins.
Because they were clearly inferior against Buffalo starters that did play -- and recall, not all Bills starters were used. Miami trailed 28-3 at halftime.
But rather than fighting back in the second half and answering whatever challenge coach Brian Flores put out there at halftime, the Dolphins seemed to get worse. And they seemed to play with little interest late in the game, especially on defense.
Against Buffalo’s reserves!
Bills 56.
Dolphins 26.
Terrible.
This game more than any other this season screams the Dolphins rebuild — surprisingly ahead of schedule as it is for a team turning a 5-11 season in 2019 to 10-6 in 2020 — is not anywhere close to complete.
The Bills showed how limited the Dolphins are on the outside with their receivers. DeVante Parker, Miami’s “best” receiver was limited to one catch in the first half without facing top Buffalo cornerback Tredavious White and before the Bills substituted throughout their defense.
Even after halftime, when Miami featured Parker, he still dropped a pass and fell down on a pass that turned into a interception return touchdown for Bills backup cornerback Josh Norman.
That was one of three interceptions thrown by Dolphins starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who had his worst day as a professional in his ninth regular-season start.
Tagovailoa had two interceptions in his previous eight starts. He had three interceptions this game.
And all that raises questions:
About Tagovailoa going forward.
About offensive coordinator Chan Gailey going forward.
About Miami’s talent at wide receiver.
I point to these areas because the Dolphins were inept on third down, And third down is the big-play down that speaks to a team’s quarterback and receivers and play-calling.
The Dolphins were 0 for 10 on third down before they managed to convert a couple late in the second half.
The second half was a bad look for the Miami defense as well. Against a lineup that did not include starting quarterback Josh Allen or receiver Stefon Diggs, or the starting offensive line, the Miami defense played poorly against Buffalo’s backups.
The NFL’s top scoring defense collapsed against Buffalo’s JV, which scored 21 second-half points. It almost made you forget how terrible the defense was in the first half.
And the first half was the worst half of football by the Dolphins all season.
Miami went into their halftime locker room trailing 28-6.
It was a disaster.
The offense was inept, failing to convert any of its seven third-down conversions.
The special teams gave up an 84-yard punt return touchdown by Isaiah McKenzie.
The defense gave up three touchdown passes — two to McKenzie and a heartbreaking 32-yarder to John Brown with only 1:07 left in the first half.
The Dolphins defense entered this game as the No. 1 third-down defense in the NFL. The Bills had the No. 1 third-down offense.
The Bills got the better end of the matchup when they had their starters in the game. Buffalo converted 3 of 5 third-down opportunities to extend drives.
And here’s the thing: The Dolphins have invested more than any other team in their secondary. They are built to stop big-time receivers and quarterbacks.
But the Miami defense has only adequate and often inconsistent pass rushing. And this game against Buffalo’s starters showed the Dolphins must either get much better pass-rush production out of players such Kyle Van Noy, Christian Wilkins, Shaq Lawson and others.
Or the Dolphins are going to have to find a consistent pass-rusher in the offseason.
And for all of Miami’s investment in that secondary, the team must study what it can do at the slot corner position. Slot corner Nik Needham, solid during most of the season, got picked on Sunday and he allowed three touchdown passes.
This story was originally published January 3, 2021 at 4:17 PM.
