The Miami Dolphins began showing promise in Sunday’s Week 7 game against the Indianapolis Colts, holding a lead into the second half, before falling behind in the fourth quarter for good.
With the absence of star quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, the Dolphins have tried finding their balance without him, which seemed to have been the case for the first three quarters of the 16-10 road loss.
But backup quarterback Tyler Huntley suffered a shoulder injury in the third quarter of the game, throwing the team off track and ultimately leading to the Colts rallying. They took a six-point lead in the fourth quarter, and did not look back.
Tim Boyle had to finish up at quarterback for the depleted Dolphins, and coach Mike McDaniel spoke about Huntley’s injury in his postgame press conference.
“I don’t have an update. He’s a tough dude. Coming off the field, he was trying to say he was going to be good,” McDaniel explained. “When the paid professionals that are on our medical team talk to him about the things that he’d have to do, and put him through some strength testing stuff, I think he wasn’t. I don’t really know the extent of it, but I know it was going to take a lot to keep him out.”
The quarterback situation continues to weigh heavily on the team. However, the light is at the end of the tunnel with hopes of Tagovailoa returning next weekend to face the Arizona Cardinals. While McDaniel did not confirm this, he did address the rumors of Tagovailoa attending practice this week that have fans on the edge of their seats.
“I think tonight, when we’re talking about a game that people played in, I think talking about guys on (Injured Reserve), I don’t think is appropriate and doesn’t hit me right,” McDaniel said in Indianapolis. “So, I’ll be more than happy to address that (Monday). But tonight, I’ll try to keep it about guys tonight.”
Even without Tagovailoa running the offense, the Dolphins showed improvement on the field with a total of 188 rushing yards. Running back De’Von Achane was shown to being a power source with a total of 15 carries and 77 yards.
“We ran the ball great. All of the backs had great running games today,” Achane said after the loss. “When we do these runs and get penalties, it puts us in a bad spot.”
The running attack is a great sign for the team, thought, as it seems it can only get better once Tagovailoa makes his return and forces opposing defenses to spread out more. Working out their issues, and building the perfect foundation for more play-action passes, will set them up for success with Tagovailoa’s return.
A costly fumble by running back Raheem Mostert in the first half, and a missed field goal by Jason Sanders in the second, cannot be ignored, however. They cost the Dolphins an opportunity to secure a pivotal road win. Sanders, in fact, was successful with a kick earlier in the game, but missed a game-tying field goal in the fourth quarter. It was his fourth missed field goal of the season.
“All of our losses have been one-possession games. It’s not like we are going and getting blown out,” Achane said. “It’s not like the team is hurting us. We are beating ourselves. We had two turnovers today. We had a lot of penalties, as well. We just have to correct the little things. We get a rhythm and then we get penalties.”
Untimely and costly errors prevented the Dolphins (2-4) from reaching the .500 mark. But, while frustrating, the issues are well known and can be worked out. It will also help, of course, if all of their star players are on the field at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday against a 2-4 Cardinals team that is 1-2 on the road.