Dolphins Offense Gives Away The Game

In the second quarter, the Miami Dolphins looked good against the Houston Texans when they had the ball near midfield. However, offensive lineman Liam Eichenberg was pushed back, and the Texans put pressure on Tua Tagovailoa. They forced a fumble and recovered. The Texans scored a touchdown to go up 10-6.

At the end of the first half, the Dolphins recovered a fumble in Houston territory, down 10-6. Then, Tagovailoa threw an interception, which the Texans returned to set up a field goal.

 Tagovailoa then threw two fourth-quarter interceptions, including one in the red zone down 20-12. The Dolphins would have been in good shape even if they got a field goal. Then Tua underthrew Tyreek Hill in the final two minutes, and the Texans ended the game with an interception. 

The Dolphins played as well as they could play on offense, and yes, the special teams gave up a huge play on a fake punt to set up a touchdown, but it was the Dolphin’s offense turnovers that cost the Dolphins the game.  

On offense, they played with two backup tackles, and while they had their problems at times, I thought they played pretty well. The problem was that Tagovailoa had an off day and looked like he wasn’t reading the defense well, especially in the middle of the field. He got away with an interception in the second quarter when he didn’t see the safety in the middle of the field, and it bit him before the half.

The Dolphins have been down this road against playoff teams; they either get blown out or make too many mistakes that cost them. At times today, I thought the Dolphins were better than the Texans, but then they would make a mistake and remind me this is why this team was 6-7 going into the game. 

The Dolphins are going to have a long off-season after a humbling season. They have to make some changes and can’t stand pat with this group, especially on offense. They need to tweak the roster, especially on the interior of the offensive. They also could use a more physical running back and receiver for games like this. The Dolphins have a lot of smaller receivers and running backs that lack size. That is where they struggle against playoff teams. 

This team can’t get out of their own way and can’t overcome the mistakes they have made in games like today. My biggest concern with this team is whether the front office sees the same thing. 

The Dolphins have done a nice job of continuing to play hard and be competitive in their games since the 2-6 start, but clearly, they need more if they are going to have games like today in which they can overcome their mistakes. You can’t turn it over 4 times and expect to win.