Dolphins Week 5 Instant Takeaways

All things considered, the Miami Dolphins' performance against the Carolina Panthers might have been their worst of what is shaping up as a most forgettable 2025 season.

In the team's first game without Tyreek Hill, the passing game did enough good things to pull out a win, but it wasn't enough to compensate for yet another dismal showing by the run defense and the Dolphins' own inability to run the ball, and the result was a deflating 27-24 loss.

This was a game where the Dolphins looked in total control, up 17-0 and one play away from getting the ball around midfield.

This game showed how close and yet how far away the Dolphins are from being able to compete.

In the end, this was more about the failure of the defense, which not only gave up the game-winning touchdown after yet another another long run but then gave up a game-clinching first down when Jack Jones grabbed the jersey of a receiver in the open field. The offense did have a chance before that but went three-and-out, punctuated by a third-down sack of Tua Tagovailoa.

THOUGHTS ON A DISAPPOINTING PERFORMANCE

-- The Dolphins offense did nothing in the second half until after Carolina took the lead, and Jaylen Waddle showed how he can turn a simple mistake into a long touchdown when he caught cornerback Michael Jackson flat-footed and sprinted by him for an easy touchdown on a ball that was clearly underthrown.

-- This is not picking on Tua Tagovailoa because he was very efficient with his passing throughout the game, simply remarking how open Waddle was because of his speed.

-- While Tagovailoa finished with good numbers and most definitely wasn't the reason the Dolphins lost, it's fair to point out he had a bad miss when he misfired to a wide open Waddle on the team's final drive.

-- One issue in the second half was the disappearance of Darren Waller, who had five catches and another touchdown in the first two quarters but not one single target after that.

-- The biggest takeaway from the offense without Hill might be that the passing game still could succeed because of Waddle and Waller, but maybe the running game will suffer because defenses aren't playing as far back without the threat of Hill beating them over the top — yes, even considering what Waddle did against Michael Jackson.

-- And we do have to mention that one issue on offense is the line, which simply isn't very good, in part because two starters are missing and because rookie left guard Jonah Savaiinaea continues to struggle.

-- Punter Jake Bailey continued his really strong season. Yes, he caught a break in the third quarter when the Carolina returner let the ball bounce at the 20 and it rolled all the way to the 2-yard line. But there was nothing lucky about his first-half booms of 54 and 56 yards that resulted in a fair catch. When you consider that a net of 40 is considered good, those two punts were excellent.

-- A perfect example of how bad calls very often go both ways, replays showed a clear hold against Jordan Phillips on the 53-yard run by Rico Dowdle at the start of the third quarter, but that was followed by a pretty blatant DPI on Jack Jones against Tetairoa McMillan that initially was flagged before the officials decided to rule it no flag.

-- Jones later got flagged for a defensive holding penalty and the game-clinching DPI. You have to like Jones' physicaility, but it does come at a price at times. And, still, the cornerback play is far from the problem on defense. The problem is the run defense. Period.

-- Good to see Jaelan Phillips finally rewarded with a sack after coming so close many times this season, including the fourth-down completion where Bryce Young kept the play alive long enough to McMillan to come open for a 20-yard gain.

-- That play came with the Dolphins leading 17-0 and a stop very well might have meant lights out in this one, but that's how things are going so far this season.

-- The Dolphins' run defense problems clearly have not been solved. If anything, they're getting worse. And we're running out of reasons because they remain the same: not winning one-on-one battles, bad angles, missed tackles. They were all on display against a Carolina team that was playing without its starting running back.

-- Zach Sieler had been invisible in the pass rush, but he got through and right up on Bryce Young twice, which led to two incompletions.

-- Overall, though, this was another bummer of a performer and it left the Dolphins at 1-4, which makes the thought of a potential playoff run even more unrealistic than it was before. Then again, if the Dolphins don't learn how to stop the run, they'll be lucky to win more than a handful of games.

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