If not for the Dolphins’ special teams not showing up today, Miami won the game 30-26.   Think about the math.

The Dolphins’ offense outscored the Chiefs’ offense.

The Chiefs’ defense won 2-0.

The Chiefs special teams won 7-0, and an ugly punt return TD where the Dolphins seemed to make zero effort.

Usually reliable Jason Sanders missed a makeable field goal.   We should have easily ended up with 30 points today.

Woulda been 40 if Jakeem Grant didn’t drop two easy passes that hit him in the numbers (one of which went for Tua’s first interception).

All those little things added up.

The safety that Tua took was just plain bad.  Tony Romo tried to cover for him by saying it was inexperience, but it was stupidity.  I love the kid, but that pass rush came right up the middle in plain sight.  Not the blind side.  He needed to throw it away, not watch the rushers sack him.

Still, despite those bad plays, the Dolphins continue to show improvement.  We forced Andy Reid to make a tough call at the tw0-minute warning facing a fourth and one.  WE put the pressure on THEM.  Although the result was a failure, still we made them beat us at the end.  They did, and they deserve the win.  But at least we made them work for it.  Tua led three impressve drives for 17 points toward the end.  KC was NOT in a prevent mode.  No, we earned those 17 points the hard way.  Tua is real.

We finally got CBS’s #1 announce team, and I was really looking forward to hearing Romo call one of our games.  But he let me down with his constant Chiefs’ praise.  Rather than talk up Xavien Howard for leading the league in interceptions, Romo instead talked about Mahomes having a bad day.  We were down our top FIVE playmakers in offense, and yet that same offense still outscored the Chiefs’ fully stocked offense.   No mention of that.  I don’t know what the Dolphins defense needed to do to earn a little praise from Romo, but it sure didn’t come today.

So now we are on to the Pats game.   We are a far better team than in week one, and they are far weaker.  Revenge should be a wonderful thing…

Meanwhile, our hopes of winning the division are all but dead as Big Ben keeps throwing the ball to the Bills.  These passes are so horrible, you have to wonder if he bet money on the Bills…

11 Comments

  1. I expected them to lose, but to come back strong in the 4th quarter…I wasn’t expecting that. The thing I fear about most is all the injuries. Losing Gesicki or Parker for a long time would seriously hurt our playoff chances.

    1. Author

      Gesicki has certainly turned into a difference maker, and Parker’s been solid too. Tua has a nice touch with the high pass, where Gesicki jumps straight up and gets two hands on the ball while still way over his head. He pulls them down. Tua tried the identical pass to Parker and later to Mack Hollins, and they each dropped it. We need Gesicki. They’re reporting it as a shoulder injury, but he seemed to be pained in the forearm. We’ll see…
      I would expect Isiah Ford to be back this Sunday, as we’re very depleted at WR.

      1. I think it’s a dislocated shoulder hurts like hell but you can pop it back in and he may be ok Sunday. I had a friend who used to have it pop out in game and he’d go back in ha! Hopefully that’s it.

        Bowden looked good may have stolen him from the Raiders. Even Hollins is serviceable. I’m impressed with Tua coming back with backups.

        Somehow the patsies are favored. Actually last three games the Fins are dogs. I don’t get it…

  2. Very good analysis Admin. Well stated. Even with the loss, as most predicted, we are now getting respect from teams and the league. That’s right R-E-S-P-E-C-T. When was the last time we could say that? I’d say the Shula years but that’s just me. Our guys are young and determined. They are working hard for Flo and it shows. We had some tough breaks yesterday but we are seeing the results of cohesion and leadership. We might still make the playoffs this year but even if we don’t, I like what I’m seeing.

    1. Author

      Yes, the tide is changing for sure. Forcing Andy Reid to make a tough decision with the game on the line? I bet he was expecting a blowout and not having to make a game-deciding 4th-down decision. That’s not a great consolation for Dolphins fans, but it shows progress.

  3. Author

    So far, the loss didn’t really affect our playoff status. We are still in, but down a rung now. We were slated to face the Bills, and now it would be Pittsburgh. Both are good teams, but our defense is vastly improved as the season went on, and these teams are beatable. We have to root for the Browns to beat the Ravens tonight. A Baltimore win pulls them into a tie with us, and then it gets ugly and complicated. Much easier if the Browns take this game, to keep the Ravens a full game below us.
    The Raiders loss yesterday certainly helped our playoff chances, and the Texans loss helped our draft pick. We moved up one spot and currently would pick 8th. We need for all those 4-9 teams to win a few more while Houston loses one or two more. There is a huge tie-breaking bottleneck right now with SIX different teams having 4 wins. When those other teams win, Houston’s pick gets better!

  4. You just knew that the brownies scored too fast. If Hunt goes down in bounds it probably goes to OT…crud.

    Vegas actually favors the Fins but when the networks were showing odds for making the playoffs they had them losing each of the last three including the patsies. I’d put that on the board if I were Flo.

  5. Author

    As expected…the first time in over a decade that the Browns played a meaningful game, and they collapsed. Their loss hurts the Dolphins in that we’re now tied for the 7th spot (and final spot). Luckily, we own the tiebreaker over the Ravens.
    But now we are only a game behind Cleveland and Indy, and tied with the Ravens. All three of those teams we are contending with have a free win next week, as their opponents are the Giants, the Texans, and Jacksonville, respectively.
    We absolutely must beat the Patriots to remain in contention.

  6. Author

    Rumors still persisting around Kenny Stills coming back. Regardless of his past criticisms of Stephen Ross causing a disruption to team cohesiveness, the main problem is that he won’t have enough time to learn the playbook. He’d have to sit out a week with the new Covid rules, and by then, Grant and Parker and maybe Preston Williams could be back

  7. good summary, admin.
    my glass is half full perspective: I think it is better that we lost a close game – we competed, and could have won it except for special teams play. This will provide motivation going forward. I am afraid if we had won it, it might have gone to our heads and we would lose to the patriots and end up with same record anyway. So hopefully this keeps the team focused. Still lots of football remaining. I look forward to a playoff rematch with the Chiefs!

  8. A lot of good analysis here…I did not honestly expect to beat the Chiefs but they never gave up and that is the “mental strength” part of the game they are certainly improved on! They are “learning how to win”…there is more than the physical strength and grit, which all teams have, but the muscle between their ears is getting more training on the winning aspect. I agree w/Flyerphin that beating the Chiefs would have made them a bit like prancing peacocks and keeping humble is also part of this learning process. This team needs to focus on what they need to do for themselves…let the chips fall where they do but take are of your own biz!

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