Foxborough, MA – The Miami Dolphins are already on the ropes after the first four games of the NFL season, and they’ll look to avoid an early season collapse when they take on the New England Patriots this Sunday.
The Dolphins have been plagued by injuries and backup incompetence across both offense and defense. Also, the backups they have aren’t doing enough, and the coaching staff has been put to the test. For a coach who has been universally beloved in his first two years, Mike McDaniel has a lot of bad questions he needs to answer.
Huntley Became The Hunted
Miami’s faithful believed that the Fins could get the job done over the winless Tennessee Titans on Monday Night, but even that turned out to be a stretch. With Tyler Huntley getting the nod at QB, the offense looked just as discombobulated as they did in their loss to Seattle. Miami’s run game was shut down and their passing game didn’t utilize their best receivers, like Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill, despite competing against a mediocre defense.
WOW.
No effort whatsoever by Tyreek Hill on this pass from Tyler Huntley to Hill. Hill obviously wasn’t trying to get to the ball after dropping by what should’ve been caught.
— Last Take™ (@TheRealLastTake) September 30, 2024
Huntley himself didn’t look completely used to the playbook. His deep passes were inaccurate and his running ability was underutilized. His pocket presence wasn’t good enough. Also, in simple plays that Tua Tagovailoa could easily make, Huntley couldn’t.
The Fins’ defense started strong but started to dwindle in strength as the game progressed. Just like against Seattle, they became gassed as the game went on due to having to spend so much time on the field.
Limping To The Next Game
To make matters even worse for Miami, their injury report is as extensive as it usually is at the end of the regular season. You start with the players who have been on IR already, such as Tua, Bradley Chubb, and Odell Beckham Jr.
Players like Terron Armstead, Jordan Poyer, Kendall Fuller, Raheem Mostert, and Malik Washington are already dealing with nagging injuries that are limiting them in practice.
Dolphins LB Jaelan Phillips announces he will miss rest of the season with a knee injury. pic.twitter.com/zYpNiu11we
— NFL (@NFL) October 2, 2024
However, the biggest loss from the Tennessee game has to be linebacker Jaelan Phillips. He suffered an injury to his knee that will require surgery to fix, ending his season. He was coming off an achilles injury last season and fought hard to get back on the field. An anchor for the defense, he’s another player Miami has that, while skillful, can’t seem to stay on the field.
Not Exactly a Premium QB Battle
Perhaps Miami’s biggest rival, the New England Patriots aren’t exactly world beaters, either. They also have a 1-3 record, with a close win over Cincinnati to open the season. They then suffered three straight losses to Seattle, the New York Jets, and San Francisco, respectively.
New England is also having a quarterback controversy, as they’ve gone to (former Dolphin) Jacoby Brissett to lead the team. However, after three straight losses, many are calling for their first-round pick, Drake Maye, to finally get the nod.
This is the first season for Head Coach Jerod Mayo, a former linebacker who won Super Bowl XLIX with New England. He has massive shoes to fill, being the prodigy of Bill Belichick – one of the most successful NFL coaches of all time.
So far, their offense hasn’t looked much better than Miami. Brissett has thrown for 536 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. They have the rare instance where their leading receiver is their tight end, Hunter Henry. Rhamondre Stevenson leads all rushers with 267 yards, but it hasn’t procured amazing results, either.
#Patriots center and captain David Andrews is expected to have surgery to repair a significant shoulder injury and will likely be placed on season-ending Injured Reserve, sources say.
One of the NFL’s toughest players, if Andrews could possibly go, he would. Brutal reality. pic.twitter.com/LMRkzQUWut
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 2, 2024
Any Patriots fan might tell you that the biggest weakness of this team is their offensive line. Graded as one of the worst in football before the season, they recently lost their starting center as well due to injury.
New England’s defense is nothing special, recording one interception, nine sacks, and seven forced fumbles. Raekwon McMillan leads all defenders with 24 tackles, and Jabril Peppers is an experienced anchor in the secondary. Still, when matched up against the 49ers offense, they crumbled under the pressure.
Final Thoughts
Not gonna lie, we’re starting to reach that point where the defense better score some points if they want to stay competitive.
If you thought the QB matchup on Monday night was a snoozefest, that was just an appetizer for Sunday. I still believe that Miami has the better overall team, but if nothing clicks like on Monday Night, then what can they do?
New England is in the same predicament, but unlike the Dolphins, they were expected to be at the bottom of the AFC East before the season began.
NEW ENGLAND – 17
MIAMI – 7
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