INDIANAPOLIS (AP) 鈥 Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel watched incredulously from the sideline as his team unraveled against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.
He saw the Dolphins’ first possession of the season and the second on a . And when it appeared the Dolphins might get off the field on defense, they couldn’t because four-time Pro Bowler Matthew Judon was called for running into the kicker.
It was a troubling start, one McDaniel hopes will not define this season.
鈥淕uys let the bells and whistles of Week 1 get the best of them, and they got dealt some strong humility,” he said after 鈥淲e鈥檙e a young team going through some growing pains. That鈥檚 what the NFL is and what the NFL does 鈥 it teaches you some hard lessons sometimes.鈥
The Dolphins should have learned some of those lessons last year, when early injuries led to a 2-6 start. They went 6-3 down the stretch but missed the playoffs.
Injuries weren’t the primary problem in Indy; Miami’s biggest issues were largely self-inflicted.
Tua Tagovailoa missed Tyreek Hill high over the middle on his third pass of the season and veteran safety Cam Bynum clasped onto the errant throw to snuff out a potential scoring chance.
The next time Tagovailoa dropped back, he didn’t seem to anticipate the blitz coming from cornerback Kenny Moore II even though McDaniel insisted his team practiced against every blitz the Colts brought. Moore hit Tagovailoa squarely in the back, jarring the ball loose. Former Dolphin Xavien Howard scooped the ball up and five plays later, the Colts led 17-0.
It wasn’t just those two plays that made it such an underwhelming performance for Tagovailoa. He was 14 of 23 for 114 yards, with three sacks, two interceptions and the lost fumble. His first TD pass of the season came on an 11-yard screen play that required a monumental effort from running back De’Von Achane to bowl over would-be tacklers on fourth-and-goal with 6:21 left in the game.
And that came after Miami drew a 5-yard penalty for too many players in the huddle.
The good news: Miami avoided getting shut out for the first time in four years. Now, the Dolphins must figure out what went wrong and why. Their two top receivers, Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, each caught four passes and combined for 70 yards.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of things we need to look at,鈥 Tagovailoa said after Miami produced just 211 total yards, 65 coming on that late scoring drive. 鈥淲e need to look in the mirror. We need to continue to hold each other accountable. As a team, collectively, this was something we were trying to avoid. But could this be good for us? We鈥檒l see how we respond next week.鈥
The defense and special teams were equally mistake-prone.
Indy converted all seven of its possessions into points 鈥 four field goals and three touchdowns 鈥 and the only time Miami forced a punt, Judon ran into Colts punter Rigoberto Sanchez. That 5-yard penalty extended the drive and allowed the Colts to close out the first half with a field goal for a 20-0 lead.
鈥淭his isn鈥檛 going to shake our confidence and cause us to start pointing fingers, but it is going to be a good opportunity for us to not have any egos,鈥 linebacker Jaelan Phillips said. 鈥淓very single player today on that field did something that needs to be worked on. We just have to keep pushing forward.鈥
Or, as McDaniel acknowledged, figure out some solutions fast.
鈥淚n this league, you鈥檙e either crowned or shunned,鈥 he said. 鈥淏ut we鈥檙e in control of how this plays out going forward.鈥
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