The Miami Dolphins were defeated by the New York Jets, 40-17, in their first of two matchups during the 2022 season.
Entering this game without Tua Tagovailoa and Xavien Howard, Miami was going to have to rely on backups at two of the most important positions on the football field. Sunday’s starting quarterback Teddy Bridgewater was called for an intentional ground in the end zone, resulting in a safety, on their first offensive play of the game.
Bridgewater was injured on the play, leaving Skylar Thompson as the Dolphins’ only quarterback on the active roster. On the next drive, Miami lost left tackle Terron Armstead to the same toe injury that had been bothering him over the last couple of weeks.
Without two key offensive starters, Thompson was able to lead his unit to 14 points through the first half, with big help from Tyreek Hill and Raheem Mostert. The Dolphins even capitalized at the end of the first half with a touchdown run by tight end Durham Smythe.
Miami’s defense struggled at times early, but some of that had to do with being put in poor situations after Thompson threw an interception on the Dolphins’ side of the field. They also left rookie running back Breece Hall uncovered for a 79-yard catch-and-run that led to a touchdown. However, without Howard and Byron Jones at cornerback, it certainly could’ve looked a lot worse.
The second half actually looked a lot like the first. Miami’s defense was overpowered, even when they weren’t on short fields, which they were again due to a strip sack. They couldn’t stick with their matchups and were incapable of tackling consistently enough.
Offensively, Thompson looked to regress after the break, as he wasn’t putting the unit in the best position. He was holding onto the ball too long, resulting in sacks or last-second throwaways. Mostert continued to run well, however, totaling over 100 yards on the ground.
Miami just couldn’t do enough to overcome the injuries that they were dealing with. They drop to 3-2 and third place in the division.
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