MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — There can be no doubt: The Miami Dolphins are one of the four worst teams in the NFL.
They’re certainly worse than the Tennessee Titans, who dominated the Dolphins here on Monday, 31-12, to win for the first time this season. The Dolphins fell to 1-3 and look closer to a team that will draft in the top five than one that will play meaningful December football.
Tennessee Titans-Miami Dolphins: Jaelan Phillips Hurt Again
On a night with bad Dolphins news all the way around, the worst came late in the third quarter.
That’s when the Dolphins ruled out Jaelan Phillips with a knee injury — just a few moments after he limped into the locker room in major distress. Phillips got hurt early in the game but decided to play through it. He only could do so for so long. Phillips seemed to aggravate the issue in a non-contact move.
If the injury is serious, it’s a brutal break for Phillips, who spent the entire 2024 offseason rehabbing from a torn Achilles.
Dolphins safety Jordan Poyer (shin) also left the game and did not return.
New Quarterback, Same Result
It’s hard to say which stat is most damning for the Dolphins this season:
Their 11 failures in 13 fourth-down tries?
Their 45 points in 16 quarters?
Tyler Huntley had Tyreek Hill wide open on this go-route, but the ball was thrown short and outside. Missed opportunity for the Miami Dolphins.#FinsUp pic.twitter.com/TokvWmyG5o
— Matt Newton (@MattNewtonNFL) October 1, 2024
Those are strong ones, but the winner has to be 30 consecutive possessions without a touchdown.
Turns out, it’s not a quarterback issue. No matter who’s on the field — and on Monday, it was Snoop Huntley — the offense has been unspeakably bad.
Where Are Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle?
No, really; where are they?
That was the question for most of the game. Tyreek Hill’s only impact play of the first quarter was for the wrong team. He dropped a lateral that would have been a scoop and score had the officials not blown the whistle dead.
The Dolphins’ high-priced receivers went to the break with 21 receiving yards on six targets.
And how did they start the second half? With a Waddle drop on what would have been a sure first down.
Where’s the Discipline?
The Dolphins aren’t just bad. They’re bad and totally unfocused.
A perfect illustration of this was at the end of the first half, which was a comedy of errors that gifted the Titans three points.
First was Duke Riley’s inexplicably irresponsible decision to try to touch a live punt, a mistake that was ruled a lost fumble on the field but later overturned.
Mike McDaniel: Major changes needed on offense pic.twitter.com/efarYDHnRT
— Adam Beasley (@AdamHBeasley) October 1, 2024
The Dolphins’ offense went three-and-out — with an illegal shift penalty, natch — and then Jake Bailey shanked a punt 30 yards that gave the Titans the ball back with good field position. Despite having no timeouts and just 16 seconds left, Tennessee converted the opportunity into a field goal as time expired.
Just awful.
Anthony Weaver Does His Part
It’s wild that the Dolphins’ offense was so checked out while the defense for most of the game was so locked in.
Defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver absolutely gave his team a chance under horrendous circumstances.
Emmanuel Ogbah, Jordyn Brooks, and Calais Campbell all had impact plays to help keep the Dolphins in a game they had no business being in.
But in the end, it just wasn’t enough — particularly after Phillips went to the locker room.