Tampa Bay’s 45-17 thrashing of Miami behooves the question are the Bucs that good or are the Fins that bad? “Both” is the appropriate answer.
And the Fins being bad goes beyond just this one game as they are 1-4 after 5 weeks and their performance has left much to be desired in all 5 games. It’s one thing to lose games, but they have looked overmatched during most games.
Today’s loss really makes you question the defense, which was supposed to be the strength of the team. Tom Brady dissected the Fins defense going 30-41 for 411 yards and 5 touchdowns. It was the first time in Brady’s storied career that he threw for 400 yards and 5 TDs in the same game.
Brady has throttled many defenses over the years, but when your defense is supposed to be the strength of the team it’s embarrassing, especially when Brady and his receivers made it look so easy.
To make matters more concerning, Tampa, which entered the day with the 30th ranked rushing attack in the NFL, rushed for 121 yards on just 25 carries for 4.8 yards per carry. Miami has now given up more than 100 yards rushing in all 5 games this season. And today they couldn’t blame it on the absence of run stopping defensive tackle Raekwon Davis, who returned after a knee injury early in week 1.
One thing the defense is missing is any semblance of play making from their linebackers. They rarely make plays behind the line of scrimmage and tackling running backs appears to be optional. Where have you gone Zach Thomas?
And in today’s game, where was the Dolphins secondary? Tampa’s receivers were open all game long. What happened to the highest paid cornerback duo in the league, Xavien Howard and Byron Jones?
If Dolfans were looking for any silver linings from this game, if you look hard enough, you might have been able to find 2.
One – Miami changed up it’s offensive line once again moving Liam Eichenberg to left tackle with Austin Jackson moving to left guard. Jesse Davis, who played left guard last week, moved back to right tackle. And the changes seemed to help as the pass protection was better than it had been. Not to the level it needs to be as they still allowed 3 sacks, but at least quarterback Jacoby Brissett wasn’t running for his life on every play. It’s tough to say how well they did in the run game as Miami only rushed the ball 9 times (for 39 yards).
Two – Brian Flores changed up the offensive play calling a bit, as George Godsey communicated directly with Brissett taking QB coach Charlie Frye out of the mix. The offense seemed to operate more smoothly than in previous games, but how much the play calling change had to do with it is anybody’s guess. The silver lining is that Flores made a change, even if it may have been minor, as play calling was a major problem during their first 4 games.
Other noteworthy takeaways from the game were:
- QB Jacoby Brissett strained his hamstring mid-game, which limited his mobility, but he toughed it out and didn’t miss a play. This could affect his availability for week 6, but Tua Tagovailoa is supposed to come off IR this week, so Brissett would likely be the backup QB even if he is healthy.
- Brissett had a decent game going 27-39 for 275 yards and 2 touchdown passes. He did have a couple of big misses (Preston Williams was wide open on a deep pass and he waited too long to throw to Mike Gesicki on long pass over the middle) which reminded you that he’s Jacoby Brissett, not Tom Brady.
- Miami was up 10-7 after the 1st quarter and has now outscored their opponents by 10 points in the 1st quarter through 5 games. But they were outscored 17-0 in the 2nd quarter. They have yet to score a touchdown in the 2nd quarter this year and have been outscored by 41 points so far this season in the 2nd quarter.
- Miami turned the ball over 2 times. Brissett fumbled the ball away in the 2nd quarter when Miami was marching downfield for a potential TD that would have reduced Tampa’s lead to 7 points at halftime. The other turnover was an interception that wasn’t Brissett’s fault as it was a very catchable ball that went off the hands of Jaylen Waddle to a Bucs defender in the 2nd half. Waddle also had a couple of other drops, which is disconcerting.
- There was a questionable pass interference call against safety Eric Rowe which gave Tampa a 1st down inside of Miami’s 5-yard line. A TD pass to Antonio Brown followed shortly thereafter.
- Not that poor punting has had much to do with the Dolphins’ slow start this season, but new punter Michael Palardy leaves much to be desired. He does a decent job on landing punts within the 20-yard line, but he rarely has a big booming punt to flip the field position. On Sunday he punted 4 times for a paltry 38.5 yards per punt.
- There was finally a Myles Gaskin sighting, which was driven by Miami passing on virtually every play. He caught 10 passes for 74 yards and 2 TDs. He ran 5 times for 25 yards.
- With DeVante Parker inactive, the Dolphins got WR Preston Williams more involved. He caught 3 passes for 60 yards and he also drew a pass interference penalty.
- Flores opted to punt when it was 4th and 3 on Miami’s own 47-yard line. You don’t beat teams like Tampa playing conservatively.
- Miami continues to struggle on both sides of the ball on 3rd down. Miami only converted twice on 7 attempts on offense while their defense allowed Tampa to convert 8 times in 11 attempts. This led to Tampa having a huge advantage on first downs (33 to 17) and time of possession (37:07 to 22:53).
- Miami only had 5 penalties for 37 yards, which is a trend they need to continue moving forward.
- Miami’s streak of forcing a turnover ended at 26 games.
- Miami sacked Brady only 2 times. Every other time when they did put pressure on Brady, he reminded us why he is Tom Brady by making several extraordinary throws.
Week 6 takes Miami across the pond to London to take on the 0-5 Jacksonville Jaguars. Needless to say, this is a game Miami must win. But they will need to bring their A game as they can take nothing for granted.
