That wasn’t merely a crushing defeat for the Miami Dolphins against a division rival they hadn’t lost to at home in six years.
It had the look of a regime killer.
The home opener against the New England Patriots was prefaced by a plane pulling a banner over Hard Rock Stadium calling for firing of Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel and GM Chris Grier.
That sentiment is certain to grow louder after a fourth quarter collapse resulted in a 33-27 loss that exposed glaring deficiencies on offense, defense and special teams. And most notably to coaching.
Especially with a prime-time date at Buffalo in four days where odds favor the Fins falling into a 0-3 hole to open the season.
Sunday’s game was a wild and fascinating afternoon of football. But there is much more than entertainment value at stake for a Dolphins franchise lost in the woods for a quarter century.
This is a team that is obviously regressing despite having a $200 million veteran quarterback and a coach in his fourth season.
Asked if he was concerned about his job, McDaniel said, “I think if I worry about my job security, I won’t be doing my job, and I think that inherently is against all things that I believe in.”
Dolphins dig early hole again
The apparent lack of preparation and level of incompetence evident in both season-opening defeats is inexcusable.
On their final two possessions, needing a touchdown to win, the Dolphins not only couldn’t handle the Patriots, they literally sabotaged themselves with mindless penalties – four of them for false starts or delay of game – and incompetence.
Tua Tagovailoa was sacked three times in those two possessions – five times total in the game – and threw an interception directly to a defender.
Tagovailoa, who was on the losing end against New England for the first time in his career, said he plans to talk to McDaniel and the offense about those failings, “because what we put out there, that was [unsatisfactory].
“Anyone who knows football and anyone who doesn’t know football, just knows that was not clean and that was not right what we were doing at the end of the game. We’ll get that fixed and communicate that to those guys and we’ll move forward from there.”
Part of the problem was the patchwork right side of the offensive line with starters at guard and tackle on injured reserve for at least a month.
Still, there is no masking Tagovailoa’s own shortcomings, notably his lack of mobility and inability to improvise and save a play when it goes awry.
Former Dolphins cornerback Xavien Howard said last week that Tua went into panic mode when the Colts took away his first look. That was evident at times against the Patriots.
Notably, Tagovailoa expressed frustration with communication from the sideline at the end of the game. This speaks of a team out of sync.
“That was really frustrating. It was frustrating with the communication, with the guys inside the huddle and then what the personnel is, then the play for those guys,” Tagovailoa said. “Do we have too many guys in, why do we have another guy running in. Just the whole operation of that was not up to standard, was not up to par and I’ve got to do a better job with our guys in that sense.”
Dolphins’ woes on defense tough to overcome
Meanwhile, the ineffectiveness of Anthony Weaver’s defense has been astounding. After giving up points on every Colts possession in week 1, the defense was burned for two touchdowns and a field goal by the Patriots before getting its first stop five minutes into the third quarter following a sack by Jordyn Brooks.
After being embarrassed on the road at Indianapolis, the Dolphins, inexplicably, looked just as unprepared for their home opener. They fell behind by two touchdowns while being outgained 143-5 in net yards to open the game.
As for special teams, the Dolphins got a 74-yard punt return for a touchdown by Malik Washington to reclaim the lead in the fourth quarter. Only to give it back by allowing a 90-yard return on the ensuing kickoff.
“Ultimately, I look at absolutely everything falling on me,” McDaniel said. “That being said, I’m very frustrated with some coaches and players that did not [execute] with the game on the line. Our communication and substitution was up to par.”
Nonetheless, McDaniel’s Dolphins let a winnable game get away at home after rallying to lead twice in the second half.
Vrabel has Dolphins’ number
The win was the first for Mike Vrabel as coach of the Patriots. But he is 3-0 against Tua-led Dolphins including his tenure with the Tennessee Titans.
If the season continues to unravel for Miami, the turning point of the Tagovailoa and McDaniel era may be traced to the December 2023 defeat at Tennessee when Vrabel’s Titans rallied from a 14-point deficit in the final three minutes.
It was difficult to look at Vrabel on the Patriots’ sideline Sunday and not feel some envy from a Dolphins perspective.
Nonetheless, the Patriots are a rebuilding team with a long way to go to challenge Buffalo in the AFC East.
The Dolphins seem farther from being up to that task than at any time under McDaniel, and they’ve never been close.
Tagovailoa was asked if he was aware of the banner that flew over the stadium before Sunday’s game.
“I didn’t see any of that but I did hear the boos,” he said. “That’s part of the game. It’s all understandable and it comes with the game.”
The Dolphins have now lost to two middling teams with undistinguished quarterbacks to open the season. The Patriots’ Drake Maye, at least, is young, mobile and demonstrated potential Sunday. But he’s a long way from Josh Allen, the long-time nemesis the Dolphins must quickly prepare to face on Thursday night at Buffalo.
It’s been quite awhile since there has been so much at stake for the Dolphins this early in a season.
Craig Davis has covered South Florida sports and teams, including the Dolphins, for more than four decades. Follow him on the site formerly known as Twitter @CraigDavisRuns.
