POLITASPORTS

Thursday night in Buffalo was a tough pill to swallow. Miami played well. On the bell curve of this season, they played excellent. But seasons aren’t graded on a curve, they’re graded on turf. And the Dolphins came up short. Had the Dolphins begun the season as they played on TNF, they would be 2-1 today. Staring at a friendly schedule with 3 of the next four opponents currently win-less. As it stands, they are without a victory three games back in the division after three games. Miami scored on their opening drive for the first time this season. The defense started shaky, but tightened up in the second half. Looking ahead, the Dolphins need to host Baltimore no worse than .500 if they want to salvage the season. They need to win against the Jets, Panthers, Cleveland, and Atlanta. Would be great to steal one from the Charges and face the Ravens with a winning record. Based on Thursday night’s performance, this is a realistic expectation. If they play as they did versus New England, they’ll be underwater. If they play like they did versus the Colts, well, they’ll be with an interim coach.

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Coaching: (B); McDaniel and Weaver both get passing grades. McDaniel called a near perfect game. Miami finished with 130 rushing yards and 146 passing yards. He precisely mixed up Achane’s finesse running and Gordon’s power rushes. He protected Tua as much as was possible. Weaver too made the most out of his defensive personnel. Miami was deficient in the secondary due to injury, which showed on occasion. However, Weaver did not leave them all alone. He mixed up his front line schemes and pressured Allen enough. Sacking Allen twice and forcing him from the pocket on several occasions. This pressure caused Allen to attempt three underhanded shovel passes to avoid being sacked even more. Unfortunately one of those broken shovel plays resulted in a Bills’ touchdown. Miami was in position to win this game in no small part due to McDaniel and Weaver. They both bought themselves time.

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Running Backs: (A-); Achane and Gordon were excellent. Achane averaged more yards per carry than Tua did per completion, by more than a yard. Gordon was only slightly less than Tua, 4.2 to 4.3 respectively. Gordon was a refreshing change. Delivering several key runs including the opening drive score. Malik Washington continued to shine as an elusive play-maker. All three had at least one carry of 14 yards. Achane and Malik also had at least three receptions out of the backfield. It was the first game this season Miami accumulated over 100 yards on the ground.

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Receivers: (B+); Hill and Waddle each caught a touchdown. The first time that has happened since Dec. 2023 vs the Jets. Both made big plays leading to 3rd and 4th down conversions on top of their TD grabs. Each finished with five catches on a day Tua only had 22 completions. There yardage totals were limited, but Miami only had 146 total passing yards. Hill dropped a deep, but under thrown ball from Tua. Though he once again had to stop on a “go” route, he should have secured the catch. Miami ended the with six receivers making at least one reception.

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Defense: (B+); It was a slow start for this unit with Buffalo scoring on 3 of their first 4 possessions. The third being a missed FG. The Miami defense has not “forced” a single punt in the first half of a game this season. Buffalo then opened the second half by marching down the field for 7 more taking a 21-14 lead. The Dolphins D woke up after that and Buffalo chose to punt on their next 3 consecutive possessions. Chubb now has a sack streak, bringing down a QB in each of Miami’s first 3 games. Dodson recorded the other. If not for an egregious error by Sieler on special teams, Miami may have won this game. They missed an “A” grade because of the first half performance.

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Special Teams: (F); Baily average 50 yards per punt on 4 punts. Patterson was perfect on extra points. Malik had 70 return yards on punts and kickoffs. Eskridge had 104 kickoff return yards, including a 54 yard return to start the game. Putting Miami in great field position to get their opening drive TD. Buffalo missed a FG. These are all great things. So how do I justify giving special teams an “F?” One word: Sieler. His roughing the punter on 4th and 7 at midfield gave Buffalo the ball back the Miami 36 yard line. Five plays later they were in the end zone with a 28-21 lead in the fourth. All the momentum was flowing in the Fins’ direction. The offense was clicking, the defense was not just holding, but stopping Buffalo. Everything seemed ready for Miami to get the ball with a little over 7 minutes to play. Then, they would march down for the win. Miami had ended the first half with 70 yard 6 minute drive, it was almost destiny. Then, one bone headed play later, it wasn’t.

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Quarterback(s): (C); I can’t fail him; but he doesn’t get high marks for his performance on Thursday Night Football. He fumbled, but recovered a shotgun snap on a critical 3rd down. He missed several open receivers on a night h completed less than 65% of his throws. He finished the game with less than 150 yards passing and average only 4.3 yards per attempt. He made two nice plays with his legs, including on a vital 3rd down. Tua had multiple TD passes for the 2nd game in a row. Giving him at least 1 in every game this season. BUT, and it is a big but. He, once again, committed an unjustifiable turnover. Tua believes it was a spectacular play by the defender, but the tape shows different. My critiques of him are documented in my grade posts dating back several years. Feel free to read any you’d like. He is a quality QB, he is not elite. Miami can win with him making mistakes. The Dolphins can not win with him making critical errors.

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Officials: (D-); I expressed my disdain for the roughing the passer call on Allen immediately. They also missed an important spot late signaling Malik short of the yard to gain. Thankfully the booth review corrected that call. Another call I believe they missed a Tyreek catch along the sideline. I was screaming at the TV for Tua to snap it before a red flag was tossed onto the field. Thankfully Buffalo chose not to throw the flag; but it was a missed call none the less. Back to the roughing call on Brooks. The play is blown dead. No argument. But he clearly tripped over a down player while being shoved by a Bills’ lineman. Leading to him gently laying Allen on the field. The play happened on first and goal at the one. Doubtful it had real impact on the Bills’ scoring or not scoring. But, if it had been 3rd or 4th and goal? The NFL QB protection pendulum has swung too far and needs a correction.

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Overall: (C+); Yes they played with effort. Yes they had the ball with a chance to win. Yes they outperformed expectations. To quote McDaniel: “to win games, you have to win the game and not lose the game.” They found a way to lose this game. The Tua interception and Sieler rouging the kicker. These are losing plays on a team that can’t find a win. Miami is capable of bouncing back. Of restoring optimism to Fins Fans, but will they? They return home for a Monday night game against the Jets. They have eleven days to prepare for a division opponent without a win this season. Then they head to Carolina. I would be incredulous if Grier and McDaniel keep their jobs with a loss to either of these teams.

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