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By all accounts, the Dolphins had no business winning a Super Wild Card Weekend matchup against the Bills.
Injuries forced them to lose their top two quarterbacks and start seven-round rookie Skyler Thompson instead. Hm. Compared to the Bills club, which has one of the best defenses in the league with one of the Super Bowl favorites and MVP quarterback Josh Allen, they are The Biggest Loser in Wildcard Round History.
But as Han Solo once said, “Don’t tell me the odds.”
Yes, the Dolphins’ season ended on Sunday as the Bills were able to walk away with a 34-31 win, but it wasn’t the 2-score beating the oddsmakers had hoped. In the throes of a loss, Miami should still be encouraged about where this organization is headed.
But first let’s look at the warts of this game. This showed the club’s inexperience both under center and on the sidelines, with first-year head coach Mike McDaniel. Procedurally, this looked like an inexperienced unit. Despite having been leading the game for some time, as well as hanging out, the Dolphins missed their chance to pick up the biggest upset of the weekend, with a total of seven penalties.
Specifically, there were multiple instances in the 4th quarter where a simple lack of awareness about the play clock proved to be a fatal blow. The worst was when they trailed 3 with just over 3 minutes to play in regulation and faced a 4-1 situation in midfield. With the Bills injured, Miami started a pivotal play in real time and it took him nearly a minute to line up and try to keep the season going. However, the Dolphins were still getting substitutions because his clock ticked within his 10 seconds of play and he was unable to turn off the snap in time, so he was called for a game delay, Changed 4 and 1 to 4. -and-5, could not be converted.
After that debacle and a botched 4-down attempt, the offense never touched the ball again.
They also faced a similar situation in previous possessions on plays of 4 and 5 from the 38-yard line. Possible penalty, but possibly a failed conversion. Given new life in the situation, McDaniel chose to punt the ball.
All in all, these missed opportunities highlight to rookie head coaches just how fine-tuned they need to be in every aspect in order to win in the postseason. It wasn’t a machine, but the Dolphins capped off what should be considered a successful season that laid the foundation for what was to come.
Of course, the biggest piece of that equation is the quarterbacks, especially Tua Tagovailoa.After suffering multiple concussions this season, medical experts say he Ready and ready to play next seasonEarlier this year, the question in Miami was whether the Dolphins would enter the QB market at this point, but Tagovailoa’s play under McDaniel this season is a player he can build under center. It shows that you can become
Tagovailoa started the Dolphins this season, going 8-5 and averaging 25.5 points per game. His 6.5 yards per play average on the team was the highest of any starting quarterback this season (minimum 10 starts). When it was either Thompson or Bridgewater, the Dolphins’ offense was crater, averaging just 16.3 points in the regular season. With that in mind, the most important position is no longer Miami’s most important offseason upgrade need.
With Tagovailoa back and a healthy offensive line in front of him, the offense should return to being a feared unit in 2023, not like it averaged 3.3 yards per play in this latest playoff loss. is not.
Meanwhile, the Miami defense was able to give it to Josh Allen on various points this game despite Buffalo scoring 34 points. They forced three turnovers on the day, including a strip fumble recovery that was returned for a touchdown at the start of the second half. The Dolphins sacked Allen his seven times, making him perhaps the most feared offense in the NFL, in the second half he puntted or turned five of his eight possessions. .
Jaelan Phillips (9 tackles, 3 quarterback hits vs. Bills) and Christian Wilkins (4 tackles, 1 sack) are two young players who will continue to build around this defense with potential returns in 2023. could get a notable boost in Byron Jones of the star corner who was absent due to injury.
Health permitting, pieces are being laid out across the roster so that Miami will be a fixture in the playoff conversation for the next few seasons. This includes the dynamic duo of wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle.
This latest loss has highlighted some of McDaniel’s inexperience, but this rebuilding is just beginning and nothing will help him in the future to play in the kind of tough defeat he endured on Sunday at Orchard Park. It’s worth noting.
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