The Miami Dolphins suffered probably their most embarrassing loss of the season on Monday night against the Tennessee Titans, as Mike Vrabel’s team erased a 14-point deficit with under five minutes left in the game to win 28-27.
While Miami only lost by one point, there was a lot left to be desired throughout the game, specifically on the offensive side of the ball.
It could be argued that the biggest reason why the Dolphins didn’t come away with the win is due to multiple red-zone trips not resulting in touchdowns. Miami’s offense had two chances inside the Tennessee five-yard line, only to muster up three points out of the two drives.
The first trip in close was on the Dolphins’ first drive of the game which ended in a fumbled snap by quarterback Tua Tagovailoa that was recovered by Titans defensive end TK McLendon Jr. This didn’t end up being terribly costly since the Dolphins scored a defensive touchdown three plays later on a Zach Sieler pick-6.
The second Miami trip to the red zone came in the third quarter with the Dolphins down 10-7. The drive ended on a third-down play from the Tennessee two-yard line (the same down and distance as the previous fumble).
Instead of handing the ball off to their reliable running back Raheem Mostert, the Dolphins once again chose to pass. Titans cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting defended the pass to receiver Cedrick Wilson Jr. beautifully, as the Dolphins came away with a field goal instead of the desired touchdown.
Coach Mike McDaniel was asked about coming up short in the red zone during his postgame media availability.
“We’ve made a point to do a pretty good job down there (the redzone) and we did not tonight,” McDaniel said. “You could point that as the number one reason we didn’t win the game. For me, you call plays for them to work, and they didn’t.”
These were two short third-and-goal plays where Mostert has proven himself more than capable of coming away with points. Electing to not run the ball in this situation is always going to be subject to questioning when it doesn’t work out. Miami’s passing game was also weakened with the injury to Tyreek Hill, making it easier for the Titans to lock up the Dolphins receivers.
“We’d done out of character things to almost find a way to lose the game,” McDaniel continued. “The guys still fought, but you have to play a certain type of football to expect to win. We have really good players, and we should be successful down there. We’ll go comb the tape and make sure the certain things that kept us from getting in the endzone don’t in the future.”
McDaniel hasn’t been shy about accepting accountability when things haven’t gone well for his team, a valued trait also shown in Tagovailoa. It’s a testament to the great leadership this team has and why they’ve been able to bounce back quickly from losses, and it seems to have worked considering they have yet to lose back-to-back games this season.
The Dolphins have a short week to prepare for a divisional showdown against the New York Jets. Look for McDaniel’s team to be ready and focused to win decisively against their rivals.