Kelly: Dolphins passing game continues to be problematic | Opinion
It was a weird, awkward moment, one where Jaylen Waddle’s nervous energy turned into uncomfortable silence, and then a poorly timed smirk.
The Miami Dolphins receiver had been asked what could potentially fix the team’s struggling passing attack, which has been out of sync for months, and the fifth-year receiver seemingly had something on his mind, but wasn’t willing to say it out loud.
Especially not to the assembled media after Miami’s 28-15 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, which ended Miami’s four-game winning streak and eliminated the Dolphins from playoff contention.
“Execution throughout play calls,” Waddle said. “They had a good game plan and we had to adjust a little bit. We just [weren’t] playing good ball.”
How do you get the passing game, which is averaging 181.3 yards per game (30.8 yards below the NFL average in 2025) , and 6.3 yards per attempt (.26 below the NFL average), back into gear?
“I think it’s just….” Waddle says before looking up at the roof of the locker room, as if he’s searching for the right words to say. “I think it just starts with everyone doing their job.
Then comes the smirk.
“I can only speak for me, personally. I’ve got to do better,” said Waddle, who finished Monday night’s game with two receptions for 26 yards, which makes it the second time this season he had been held to fewer than three receptions.
Without Tyreek Hill, who sustained a season-ending and career-threatening left knee injury in late September, teams have been able to focus their coverage on Waddle, and that’s often taken him off the board for quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who is in the midst of his worst statistical season since joining the NFL in 2020.
“I ain’t going to lie. I think we had a good week of prep. Tua got us all ready,” Waddle continued. “We knew what we wanted to do, and why we wanted to do it. But, we just got to do better at executing.”
Problem is, that the same sad song the Dolphins have been all season long about the passing game. Even before Hill’s injury.
Unfortunately, nobody is stepping up for Miami’s passing game, and that explains why the Dolphins have an offense that’s ranked 25th in yards per game, ranked 22nd in scoring, and 27th in passing yards heading into Sunday’s home game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
“I think there’s multiple things at play. I think ultimately, everybody has to do better. [We] have to coach better,” head coach Mike McDaniel said after the Steelers loss. “A lot of the time people squarely put focus on the quarterback. I think there are several times tonight, one in particular [that] stands out, where I think he was about to make the right read and we had our eligible fall down.”
McDaniel is referring to one of the four sacks Tagovailoa took in Monday night’s game, a play that happened because receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, who has been a massive disappointment as a free agent signing, got tripped up and fell down on his route, which forced Tagovailoa to unsuccessful scramble to his left.
“It has to be better for us to be able to win games when you’re not owning time of possession or controlling the game on the ground,” McDaniel said. “That limits you a ton. It’s not up to the standard.”
McDaniel later blamed himself for not involving Darren Waller more in the game plan, especially after the tight end scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter.
Waller finished the game catching 7 of 8 passes thrown his direction, turning them into 66 yards and the two scores.
Behind Waller was De’Von Achane, who caught all six of the passes that came his way, turning those receptions into 68 yards. Then there was Greg Dulcich, the newest tight end, who caught two passes for 46 yards, and has been on a impressive run with Tagovailoa this month.
The problem is Miami’s receivers had a whisper-like performance against the Steelers, and it’s not their first. Malik Washington caught one pass for 10 yards, and no other receiver pulled down a reception.
Tagovailoa was also sacked four times, for a loss of 32 yards, and he threw one troublesome interception on a pass intended for Waddle, which cornerback Asante Samuel Jr. stepped in front of to conclude the Dolphins’ second offensive possession.
“I’ve got to play better. I’ve got to be better for our guys offensively,” Tagovailoa said, referring to his fifth game of the season where he produced a passer rating over 100. “I’m pretty disappointed with how ready I got our receivers in terms of [the] operation, guys knowing where to line up, communication when it comes to personnel.
“That’s something I harp to guys when we’re in our own player-led meetings, and I felt like I let our guys down.”
Is Tagovailoa being diplomatic, falling on the sword, taking blame for the offense’s poor performance?
He’s seemingly insinuating that his weapons aren’t lining up properly, and might be familiar with their assignments, hot routes and route depths?
Those were issues earlier this season and maybe they’re still problems.
Even if Tagovailoa was hinting at that, and even if that was the case, it doesn’t explain why the Dolphins sparingly have Tagovailoa throw passes 20-plus yards downfield. Or why Miami’s hurry-up offense operated at a snail’s pace while trailing the Steelers by 25 points early in the fourth quarter.
And when Tagovailoa does make bold throws there’s a high probability that Miami’s opponents end up with the ball, seeing as how Tagovailoa leads the NFL with 15 interceptions.
It’s a stunning contrast from how the former University of Alabama standout has played the previous five seasons, when he completed a high percentage of passes, typically had a high success rate on third downs and red zone opportunities and sparingly threw interceptions.
But that was then, and this is now. And now Tagovailoa, who has an 88.4 passer rating on the season, is struggling in all those categories this season.
“It would be very rash and short-sighted if I even tried to tackle that option,” McDaniel said when asked about benching Tagovailoa for the final three games, since Miami’s been eliminated from playoff consideration. “I have to look at the tape, and I’ll move on from there.”
This story was originally published December 16, 2025 at 11:11 AM.
