Quick thoughts from South Florida Sun Sentinel staffers on the Dolphins’ loss to the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium as Miami ends its season with a 7-10 record.
Chris Perkins, Dolphins Columnist
The Dolphins did what they could with limited personnel but in the end it was simply another late-season road loss against a playoff-caliber team. Miami ends the season 1-6 (.143) against playoff teams and coach Mike McDaniel falls to 5-26 (.161) vs. playoff teams in four years. But as far as good news, rookie quarterback Quinn Ewers showed some promise late in the season.
David Furones, Dolphins Writer
The season mercifully comes to an end. It’s about time. The Dolphins never stood much of a chance in this one without De’Von Achane or Jaylen Waddle, but Quinn Ewers was mostly fine, keeping the team in the game until his critical interception throwing to the end zone with a chance to tie in the third quarter. There’s no reason the defense should’ve been that flat again coming out of halftime. It’s all about the offseason now, and whether the franchise moves off of Mike McDaniel, to go with the already-coming GM search.
Steve Svekis, Assistant Sports Editor
The one thing that has been a constant more than anything else when the Dolphins play in cold weather is the inability to tackle with fluidity and ferocity. There has always been a bunch of tepid hitting, and bouncing off with no wrapping up, leading to bushels of gash plays. Year after year, decade after decade. So, with that ‘Groundhog Day’-conjuring debacle in Massachusetts, the Dolphins fall to their worst year since the stripped-down-roster 5-11 of 2019.
And, as if things couldn’t be any more dire, the Patriots have their mobile, howitzer-armed stud at quarterback for the next dozen or so years, while the Dolphins eschewed such a quarterback in 2020 and instead drafted Tua Tagovailoa. It will take a major, major jump for the Dolphins to do anything but finish third in the AFC East in the foreseeable future.
Keven Lerner, Assistant Sports Editor
Not sure what is more daunting: How bad the Dolphins continue to be, more than 25 years after their most recent playoff win, or how much of a juggernaut the Patriots have become, joining the Bills as AFC East bullies. Another long offseason looms.