Coming into this game, Dolphins fans already had their expectations tempered. Tua is out indefinitely, the offensive line is a mess, and they were playing in a hostile environment in Seattle. Things couldn't get any worse, right?... except they did. Skylar Thompson looked poor as the starting quarterback and, on top of it all, left the game with an injury. Tim Boyle replaced Thompson and didn't fair much better; his QBR (1-100 scale) was a pitiful 3.2, and the Dolphins could not put any points on the board with him under center.
The problems were not all self-inflicted, as this Seahawks team looks legit. The defense, especially, has improved leaps and bounds from last season. The Dolphins quarterbacks were sacked six times, Thompson five times, and Boyle once. Derick Hall led Seattle with two of those six sacks. The game never felt like much of a contest, with Seattle getting off to a 10-0 lead about midway through the first quarter and never looking back.
Miami is now off to a 1-2 start, with next week's Monday Night Football Matchup against the Titans now looking like a must-win. Their next two games after that are on the road, and with the Bills looking fantastic and the Jets improving, they won't be pleased with a potential 1-3 start.
So...about that Quarterback position
As I stated in the preview, it was difficult to predict how good this offense would be with Thompson. We saw a glimpse of how it might look against Buffalo, but this Seattle matchup would be his first start in nearly two years. The Seattle defense did their part, but overall, the offense did not look good at all. The Dolphins were the only team that played on Sunday that failed to score a touchdown, and Thompson averaged just 5.6 yards per attempt.
As a result of the poor quarterback play, the receivers could not get it going either. Tyreek Hill had three catches for 40 yards, and Waddle had four for 26 yards. De'Von Achane lined up as wide receiver at times and had the Dolphins' biggest play of the day before the fourth quarter, but aside from that one play, the screen game was inefficient. Thompson took a shot to his chest in the middle of the third quarter, and Mike McDaniel has said he's currently day-to-day.
Even if Thompson is fit and ready to play, there's a good chance he won't start. McDaniel has already hinted at the fact that Tyler Huntley, who was signed off the Ravens practice squad (and grew up in South Florida, to boot), may be QB1 on Monday Night Football against Tennessee. Huntley will have to take first-team reps and learn the playbook first, but he is a more exciting option than Thompson and has served as an adequate backup to Lamar Jackson for the past few seasons.
Inability to Capitalize on Mistakes
As much of a disaster as this game looks like, on the box score, the Dolphins had a few opportunities to make it close. At 10-0, Geno Smith had a pass deflected and intercepted by Kader Kohou, and the Dolphins got the ball at the Seahawks' six-yard line. They failed to take advantage of the field position and settled for a field goal. Even after Smith threw a 71-yard deep ball to DK Metcalf to make the score 17-3 at the end of the first quarter, the Seahawks didn't score again until the fourth quarter.
The Seahawks punted four times between the middle of the second and third quarters, but the Dolphins' offense couldn't get anything going. They totaled just 205 yards on 56 plays, a dreadful average of 3.7 yards per play. That's just not going to cut it in the NFL, no matter who or where you are playing. Smith threw another interception late in the third, and the Dolphins were able to bring to first and goal at the two-yard line. However, the Seahawks' defense stood firm, forcing another turnover on downs.
Taking two trips inside the opposition's six-yard line and leaving with three points is a pretty good formula to lose a game, and that's exactly what the Dolphins did. Not only that, they were also 1-12 on third-down conversions on the day. There were ample opportunities to make this a competitive game, but the Dolphins kept shooting themselves in the foot.
Defense Shows Signs of Life
As easy as it is to be pessimistic about this game, there were some slightly encouraging signs. Aside from Metcalf's long touchdown where he burned the secondary, the defense played a decent game. They held Seattle to only two red zone trips, 3-11 on third downs, and forced two turnovers. Calais Campbell and Zach Sieler had a sack apiece and earned high marks of 91.1 and 86.5 on Pro Football Focus, respectfully.
This came against a Seahawks offense with a lot of firepower, and while it would be foolish to say that they shut Seattle down, they did enough to keep the game within striking distance. It should only get better when Bradley Chubb returns and when Chop Robinson can get a more significant number of reps.
If the poor quarterback play continues, the defense must do its job to keep this team afloat if the Dolphins are going to have any chance of sneaking in the playoffs. Luckily, the next game is against a Tennessee team that looks nearly as lost on offense as the Dolphins.
Bet Recap from Preview
Another easy cash for the spread, Seattle -4.5, seemed low to me, and this game showed why. JSN failed to reach over 48.5 yards, ending with 39. He did not see nearly as much target value as he did in the previous game, as Geno Smith worked to spread the ball around more evenly.
Up Next: Tennessee Titans
Another primetime matchup is next, a home game against the struggling Tennessee Titans. The losers of this game will have dug themselves a deep early hole, so both times should be coming out firing.
Final Score: Seahawks 24, Dolphins 3
Souza's Three Stars
1st Star- Zach Charbonnet (18 carries, 91 yards, 2 TDs, 3 receptions, 16 yards)
2nd Star- Derick Hall (5 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 TFL, 4 QB hits)
3rd Star- DK Metcalf (4 receptions, 104 yards, 1 TD)
Main Image via
Comments