Looks Like a Maye Problem On the Way; QB Trade Impacts Dolphins Opponents

It was an incredible play in a massive moment for Maye, and it helped the Patriots win in Buffalo, something Miami hasn’t done since Christmas Eve, 2016. Yikes. 

We should, of course, also note that Maye led the Patriots to a win against the Dolphins in Week 2. He completed 83% of his passes in that game and logged three touchdowns, two in the air and one on the ground. 

If you paid any attention to how Maye played last season, this shouldn’t be a surprise. He’s got all the physical tools to be an elite, game-changing quarterback. In fact, his play style draws a lot of comparisons to another quarterback the Dolphins have struggled to stop — Josh Allen. 

Maye isn’t quite as big, fast, or strong-armed as Allen, but he’s in the ballpark, and he’s already proven he can go throw-for-throw with the reigning MVP on his turf. 

I had Maye rated as the top quarterback in his class before the draft, so his becoming a good quarterback so quickly isn’t overly surprising. However, it’s another roadblock the Dolphins will need to overcome twice a year.

After mostly dominating against New England in recent seasons, things won’t be so easy moving forward. 

Browns and Bengals QB Swap

The Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals made a trade Tuesday that will send quarterback Joe Flacco from the Browns to the Bengals. 

The Dolphins will play the Browns in Week 7 and are slated to play the Bengals in Week 16 on “Sunday Night Football.” 

The trade comes on the heels of the Browns benching Flacco in favor of rookie third-round pick Dillon Gabriel, who made his first start against the Vikings. He completed 19 of 33 passes for 190 yards and two touchdowns. 

The Dolphins will see Gabriel fairly soon, so what do we know about the rookie passer? Well, compared to Flacco, he’s significantly more mobile. Although Gabriel only had 5 rushing yards in Week 5, he’s capable of avoiding pressure beyond the line and extending plays. 

From a physical tools standpoint, Gabriel mirrors Bryce Young in a lot of ways. Neither has an overly strong arm, but both are accurate touch passers at their best when the ball comes out quickly. Additionally, both should get the “sneaky athletic label.”

This season, the Dolphins’ secondary has mostly played on its heels and allowed opposing quarterbacks to rack up easy completions in the short area of the field. If they do that against Gabriel, they’ll be playing right into his strengths. 

We should also point out that the deal means Shedeur Sanders is the Browns’ QB2. 

There is word out of Cleveland that Deshaun Watson soon will get clearance to return to practice, but it almost assuredly won't come in time for him to face the Dolphins.

Moving on from Gabriel to the quarterback he replaced, the Dolphins are pretty familiar with Flacco at this point. The veteran is 6-3 all-time against the Dolphins and most recently played the team in 2022 when he was with the Jets. 

The last time Flacco beat the Dolphins was in 2017, when he was still with the Ravens. He lost all three of his starts against Miami with the Jets, and his numbers weren’t great in those matchups. 

Flacco is likely an improvement over Jake Browning, who was filling in for Joe Burrow before the trade, but he wasn’t playing well with Cleveland before he got benched. 

The Dolphins’ defense under Anthony Weaver tends to do a much better job against pocket passers with limited mobility, and that’s what Flacco is. 

Regardless of who starts for Cincinnati or Miami, there’s a good chance that game gets flexed out of Sunday night football anyway.