Dolphins Playoff Hopes Fading Following Loss To Texans

Houston, TX – Did you hear that? It might be the chances at a playoff spot slipping away for the Miami Dolphins, who laid an egg against the Houston Texans in a critical contest, resulting in a 20-12 loss in one of the team’s worst performances of the season.

It was a game that Miami needed to have. With a 6-8 record and only three games left to go, it might be a stretch to say they’re in the hunt. On paper, they are, but realistically it seems impossible at this point. The Texans are a good opponent, but the level of urgency you would think Miami would have for this game was nowhere to be found.

The last thing the Dolphins needed in a game this season was for Tua to have an off day. Unfortunately, that was the case today as he had one of his worst performances in his NFL career. There were a lot of other reasons that the Dolphins came out flat-footed, but Tua was the one player on the team you can count on to perform well. But alas, it wasn’t meant to be today.

The Losses Are Bigger In Texas

Injury-wise, the Dolphins entered this game with problems. While they got back Raheem Mostert, the offensive line was missing Terron Armstead and Kendall Lamm—two starters. That spelled doom for their already-limited running game (which was held to 52 yards), but the additional pressure on Tua would be challenging.

Tua usually does a good job quickly getting rid of the ball, but Houston’s defense still denied him time to breathe. This was especially noticeable on third downs when the Texans sent the house and they came out with three sacks, and THREE INTERCEPTIONS. This includes a pick on Miami’s final drive. For as bad as Miami played, they were only down by eight points with a chance to tie with minutes to go.

Grant DuBose took a HARD hit to the head from Caleb Bullock on this play in Dolphins-Texans😪

DuBose was surrounded by players on the field for prayer before having his jersey cut off by the medical staff and taken off the field on a stretcher.

Prayers up for Grant🙏 pic.twitter.com/mTzSN7u5Fi

— Zero Gravity (@zgsportsmedia) December 15, 2024

Overall, Tua was underwhelming in yet another important game. It didn’t help that Jaylen Waddle was injured during the game. His replacement, Grant Dubose, suffered a nasty hit to the head off a hospital pass by Tua and was carted off the field.

Speaking of which, Tua’s refusal to slide instead of dive head-first in almost every game is very frustrating to watch.

The Frustrations Are Piling Up

Can we ban the screen pass? If the tush push is an epidemic, the screen passes to Achane and whatnot have been plaguing Miami’s offense. Sometimes they work, like in OT against the Jets. But against one of the best defensive units in football? Six tackles for a loss.

The Dolphins defense did their part. 20 points against a Texans unit with as many playmakers as they have is not bad. They gave up 10 points off of four turnovers, which is commendable.

I thought Jason Sanders was going to have a redemption arc after nailing a 55-yard field goal. But following Miami’s only touchdown of the day – a fourth-down catch by Jonnu Smith – he missed the extra point. It ultimately didn’t end up mattering, but it lowered my trust in Sanders in the clutch.

Miami is staring into an abyss. If they were to make the playoffs, they would have to win out and need teams like Indianapolis, the LA Chargers, and Denver to suffer major collapses. Not to spoil anything, but all of that probably won’t happen.

The Dolphins will look to at least close out their final game at Hard Rock Stadium on a high note. That’ll be on Sunday, December 22nd at 4 pm against the San Francisco 49ers.