2 years ago
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It wasn’t the nonaccomplishment that was truthful disheartening. It was the blowout.
The question astir whether they are a playoff squad aft 7 consecutive wins against easier contention was answered. They inactive person a agelong mode to go.
Here are 10 thoughts connected Sunday’s loss:
1. Tua Tagovailoa didn’t springiness the Dolphins enough of a accidental this game. He had an particularly atrocious archetypal half. He made a large whiff, losing the shot arsenic helium went to propulsion and watching Tennessee retrieve the fumble astatine the Dolphins’ 14. The defence held, but Tennessee got a tract extremity to spell up, 10-0. There were the vocation questions astir his arm, arsenic helium was 2 oregon 3 yards abbreviated connected passes erstwhile helium rolled to the near – 1 aboriginal successful the crippled to Mack Hollins, different successful the 3rd quarter. Tua besides had a mates interceptions dropped by Tennessee precocious successful the fractional (his interception precocious successful the crippled came disconnected a Mike Gesicki drop). There was an 8-yard sack successful the 3rd 4th that led to Jason Sanders’ 52-yard tract extremity doinking disconnected the goalpost. Tagovailia ended the time completing 18 of 38 passes for 205 yards. Throw successful the 3 points this discourtesy scored, and it conscionable wasn’t bully enough. A young quarterback’s atrocious day? An discourtesy that demands mroe than helium tin give? Some questions that accidental Tua volition ne'er beryllium an elite quarterback? It’s each connected the array aft a time similar this.
2. The Ryan Tannehill connected Sunday was the Ryan Tanneill of his bully days for astir of 7 Dolphins years. He wasn’t great. He showed his vocation limitations. He was seasoned good, though. Smart. The archetypal happening a backmost is asked to bash is to not suffer the game. Did Tannehill marque immoderate atrocious plays? No interceptions. OK, helium underthrew a definite touchdown to Brown and followed that with a sack, his lone 1 of the game. But helium avoided the large mistake connected a weather-challenged time and made capable plays to win. On Tennessee’s archetypal scoring drive, helium had second-and-15 and completed a 25-yard walk to Brown. On fourth-and-1, his backmost sneak got 2 yards to the Miami 15. He past threw a elemental 1-yard touchdown to Bullock to marque it 7-0. He completed 13 of 18 passes for 120 yards. That’s each helium was asked to do.
3. Where was the Dolphins defense that gave up 11.7 points successful the seven-game triumph streak? Well, Tennessee didn’t request injured moving backmost Derrick Henry to lb that defence into submission. D’onta Foreman did conscionable good down this violative enactment with 26 carries for 132 yards. He’s fundamentally the Duke Johnson of the Titans, a erstwhile third-round prime who’s been waived by 4 teams (including the Titans past year) and signed with Tennessee’s signifier squad connected Nov. 2. He played the Henry relation against the Dolphins conscionable good arsenic the Titans ran for 198 yards connected a time that asked for that benignant of output from the winner. And the defence that led the league successful sacks? It had 1 connected Sunday against that beardown rushing attack.
4. The Dolphins’ playoff chances? Do we request to bash a post-mortem? They didn’t get assistance erstwhile Las Vegas rallied to triumph astatine Indianapolis. Coupled with New England’s casual triumph astatine Jacksonville, and the Dolphins are retired of the playoffs Sunday if the Los Angeles Chargers triumph oregon tied against Denver successful a precocious game. If Denver wins, they past with a playoff changeable until adjacent week.
5. Sunday started retired arsenic a field-possession game, and the mislaid yards connected the punt crippled acceptable a tone. The teams traded 4 bid of three-and-out punts, but Tennessee seemed to march down the tract erstwhile you look astatine them:
Miami: Punts from ain 42.
Tenn: Punts from ain 30.
Miami: Punts from ain 34.
Tenn: Punts from ain 44.
Miami. Punts from ain 15.
Tennessee starts thrust astatine Miami 46.
Miami punter Michael Palardy averaged 38.3 yards successful the 3 punts that sequence. Tennessee averaged 45 yards those two. Miami besides got 15 full instrumentality yards successful their 2 returns. Tennessee got 28 yards successful their three. So successful a field-position commencement …
6. Tennessee started its 3rd drive of the crippled astatine the Miami 46 without having got a archetypal down. Handed a abbreviated field, it was 8 plays and 46 yards for the archetypal people of the game. That swung the game, 7-0, and that was efficaciously each the discourtesy the Titans needed. So it wasn’t conscionable the discourtesy and defence that struggled. The peculiar teams did successful ways that weren’t ever showing up successful the stat sheet.
7. Stat of the day: The Dolphins were 3 of 12 connected third-down conversions. That tells the communicative of first- and 2nd down, really. Here’s the lengths the Dolphins had connected 3rd down: 10, 9, 10, 1, 10, 9, 10, 10, 4, 11, 9 and 10 yards. The 2 converted were third-and-9 erstwhile Tua completed a 14-yarder to Mike Gesicki and third-and-four erstwhile helium completed a 6-yard walk to Devante Parker. On 3rd down, was sacked 3 times, fumbled erstwhile (on third-and-1, a fumble connected the halfway exchange), ran for 1 gait connected third-and-10 and completed 2 of 7 passes for 18 yards. The motivation of the story: Third-and-long isn’t immoderate mode to win.
8. The Dolphins mislaid their seventh consecutive game nether 40 degrees arsenic a franchise. For anyone reasoning the upwind was an contented Sunday, playing successful the rain/freezing rainfall is ever an issue. But the Dolphins person to physique a squad with that successful mind. They volition person to play important games successful Buffalo, New England and the Meadowlands astatine immoderate constituent and they could beryllium successful December oregon January.
9. On Tennessee’s 2nd possession, moving backmost Hilliard ran 5 yards and his upfield momentum was negated connected a deed by information Javon Holland conscionable abbreviated of the archetypal down. Plays similar that archer wherefore Holland has go specified a beingness this season. Hillard deed a wall, turning a definite archetypal down conscionable connected momentum into a halt abbreviated of the archetypal down. In a possession game, that mattered. Of course, arsenic the crippled went on, the defence got taken to the woodshed, Holland included. When a squad rushes for 198 yards, that’s telling of the time you had connected defense. Still, a first-year subordinate similar Holland has shown capable to cognize the endowment helium tin be.
10. Patriots astatine Dolphins. The 17th crippled of the twelvemonth comes with immoderate playoff implications – predominately for New England. The Dolphins bushed New England successful the opener erstwhile Xavien Howard stripped Patriots moving backmost Damien Harris of the shot and past recovered the fumble astatine the Dolphins 9-yard enactment successful the last minutes. For a portion this year, the Dolphins were 1-7 and the Patriots held the No. 1 effect successful the AFC. But aft winning 7 consecutive New England had successive losses to Buffalo and Indianapolis earlier beating Jacksonville connected Sunday.
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