The Miami Dolphins lost their fourth straight game, this week to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by a score of 45 – 17.

The Dolphins fall to 1-4 on the season, and even though this was a game that 99.99% of people figured would go in Tampa’s favor – the manner in which it did was more demoralizing than fans would have hoped for.

In summary, the offense came alive. Was it to a level like the Kansas City Chiefs, Dallas Cowboys or the Los Angeles Chargers? No, but it was an offensive performance unlike anything we’ve seen this season.

However, the defense did not show up. As mentioned in the preview, the Buccaneers have a ridiculous amount of weapons at their disposal, but seeing some of the talent on Miami’s secondary get torched was disheartening.

The defensive side of the ball was suppose to be the strength, that is where Flores is suppose to shine. Some of these defensive players are suppose to be elite, which is why Howard, Jones and Baker all got big contracts – yet here we are.

A closer look

As previously mentioned, the Dolphins offense came out firing.

Wide receiver Preston Williams was the main beneficiary – recording 55 yards on the opening drive. His first catch came on an impressive toe-tap along the sidelines, reminiscent of his rookie season where he was considered to be a hidden gem. However, he would finish the game with only three catches for 60 yards.

Running back Myles Gaskin had his best game of the season – with the Dolphins finally electing to give him the highest amount of volume among the RBs. He had 25 yards rushing on five carries, but through the air, he added 10 catches for 74 yards and two touchdowns.

Tight end Mike Gesicki also had a decent performance, bringing in 43 yards on four catches.

Rookie Jaylen Waddle would finish with only 2 catches for 31 yards. He had an opportunity for a bigger catch but was held back on a defensive pass interference.

He also had a few mistakes, including a dropped pass in the end zone (that wouldn’t have mattered because an OPI) and also a dropped pass that led to an interception for Tampa.

With the Dolphins missing both DeVante Parker and Will Fuller, the team elected to activate… Isaiah Ford… who had one catch for three yards.

Many were frustrated that the Dolphins did not elect to bring up Kirk Merritt – and were also frustrated that Lynn Bowden Jr. could not be activated due to him being placed on IR before the season…

Meh.

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Now the offensive line has been one of the biggest storylines of this team – and as mentioned in the preview, it wouldn’t have been shocking if the Dolphins elected to move Austin Jackson to guard. That is what the team did for this game. Eichenberg took over for Jackson at left tackle, and Austin Jackson was moved to left guard.

Was the unit spectacular? No, but it resembles a functional offensive line. It allowed there to be something to work with.

Jackson still had some mistakes – such as on Jacoby Brissett’s strip sack, he was pushed back all the way into Brissett. However, moving to guard seemed to ease some of Jackson’s responsibility and succeed as a blocker, especially on runs.

Liam Eichenberg didn’t look spectacular by any means, but he was nowhere near the liability that Jackson was.

Jesse Davis continues to be disappointing, but at this point in the season, what other options do the team have? Not much apparently, as Greg Little was inactive again.

As for the defense, what a defeating effort.

The Dolphins defense simply got exposed. It hurt worse because the players getting exposed were Miami’s best players, their highest-paid, their veterans.

Xavien Howard got torched by Antonio Brown twice. Once on a crossing route that he took for 62-yard touchdown. The other play was on a drag route in the red zone. Brown would finish with seven catches for 124 yards and two touchdowns.

Mike Evans had the upper hand on Byron Jones, coming down with a 34-yard touchdown where he snuck behind Jones. Evans would finish with six catches for 112 yards and two touchdowns.

As suggested in the preview, Jones’ athleticism made him the likely matchup against Evans, while Antonio Brown’s ability as a route-runner made him the matchup against the more technically sound Xavien Howard. Despite that, it was too much for these guys.

People continue saying “Antonio Brown is back,” but Brown never left. He had some off-the-field issues that kept him from playing football, but it’s not like he ever regressed. He was never washed up. The narrative that he was just some third-option for Tampa is comical to think of. This is still one of the most talented guys in the entire league, and just because he took a season away from football doesn’t mean he simply is not the same guy.

Outside of a tackle for a loss, and some good stops from Jaelan Phillips, the Dolphins front was not impressive in this game. The pressure on Brady was inconsistent. Although Brady will always be one of the best at dealing with pressure, there were far too many moments where Brady was able to stand flat-footed, like a statue, without a single worry of being hit by a defender.

Bucs RB Leonard Fournette was able to gash the Dolphins defense picking up 67 yards on 12 carries. Fournette also added 43 yards, primarily taking advantage of a mismatch with linebacker Jerome Baker, who struggled in coverage.

Baker also got beat badly by Giovanni Bernard on an angle route in the red zone, which turned into a 10-yard touchdown.

Chris Godwin led the team in targets with 11, reeling in seven of them for 70 yards.

Another heartbreaking reality: the Dolphins turnover streak came to an end. The streak ends after 26 games.

 

Takeaways

 

Austin Jackson being moved to guard worked today. This was one of the most difficult fronts in football, if not THE most difficult front, and the offense line worked. It’s too early to say whether Jackson will be able to capitalize and really become a formidable long-term solution at this spot, but for the immediate future, this works. Don’t rock the boat next week. Keep him at guard.

Myles Gaskin needs all the touches. Seriously, it’s mind-blowing how he wasn’t getting more touches. It’s infuriating. Gaskin is still averaging 4.9 yards per carry, and adds a ton of value as a receiving back. The team still seems weary of using him as the workhorse, but why? Give him the rock on the ground, give him the passes, let the man go to work. Malcolm Brown shouldn’t touch the field unless it’s an obvious run or goal line situation, and Salvon Ahmed shouldn’t be on the field unless Gaskin is gassed (no pun intended.) After seeing the secondary get torched, the defensive front get exposed, the offense line get hammered, the receiver group fall apart with injury – it makes absolutely no sense to look at Gaskin and be mad that the Dolphins didn’t replace him.

This is priming Tua Tagovailoa for a savior moment. I can’t say for certain whether Tua will capitalize on it, or whether the team will make a massive leap when he returns from his injury – but the opportunity is there. If Tagovailoa is able to take this offense to a level that they haven’t been at over the past decade, at a moment where the morale is at an all-time low, he can win over fans from across the league.

The Dolphins aren’t legitimate contenders this year. This may be a little late to say it, but this was the Dolphins last opportunity to really turn things around for the 2021 season. Most people expected a loss here, but there being such a big gap from an actual elite team from this one just shows that it isn’t in the Dolphins cards for this year. Their schedule eases up over the next couple weeks and they may be able to salvage some wins that make their record look better, or instill some sort of feel-good sentiments, but as for whether they can compete with the Chiefs, Bucs, Bills and Packers of the league – it just seems too far-fetched.

Barring an incredible turnaround, Chris Grier’s future seems sealed and Brian Flores is already under pressure. We’ve seen some of the questionable decisions look bad now for several weeks, but this one may be one of the worst weeks. Justin Herbert threw for 400 yards and had five total touchdowns and looks unstoppable. He has 14 passes of 40+ yards in his career, while Tua has yet to record a single one. Noah Igbinoghene was a healthy scratch despite the team trading their punt returning and having their starting cornerback dealing with an injury. Meanwhile, Trevon Diggs who was drafted after Igboghene is having a Defense Player of the Year calibre season. As for Flores’, he’s suppose to be a defensive guru. Yet the defense isn’t playing anywhere near an elite level this season. At this rate, he’s going to develop a reputation of a defensive guru the same way that Adam Gase was a quarterback guru.