MIAMI GARDENS — The Miami Dolphins ensured back-to-back losing seasons with Sunday’s 45-21 loss against the Cincinnati Bengals, and in the process they found out that rookie quarterback Quinn Ewers still has a long way to go before he can compete for a starting job.

The Dolphins (6-9) usually handle sub-.500 teams at home but this was different. Cincinnati (4-11) got hot in the second half and never looked back, scoring 28 points.

In a matter of speaking, things get serious for the Dolphins in these final two games because they host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and then visit the New England Patriots and both teams will likely be playing for either a playoff berth or playoff positioning.

Here’s what we learned Sunday: 

Ewers struggles in first start

Rookie quarterback Quinn Ewers (20 of 30, 260 yards, no touchdowns, two interceptions, 65.9 passer rating) started out OK but didn’t have a good second half Sunday. Ewers, the seventh-round pick, slung the ball all over the field in the second half after going 10 of 12 for 109 yards and a 104.5 passer rating in the first half. — Chris Perkins

McDaniel practically a .500 coach, but does it matter?

Coach Mike McDaniel’s regular season record fell to 34-32 (.515) with Sunday’s loss, 34-34 (.500) including playoffs.

It appears McDaniel has a reasonable assurance that he’ll return next season. If his season record or overall record mattered to owner Stephen Ross, it seems unlikely that McDaniel would have started Ewers. 

As a reminder, McDaniel entered the season 4-20 (.200) against playoff teams and as things stand now he’s 1-4 (.200) against playoff teams so far this season.

Tua new pregame and in-game routine; was relaxed in locker room

Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was on the field pregame helping backup quarterback Zach Wilson go through his routine alongside offensive assistant Max McCaffrey, who works with quarterbacks. At the same time starting quarterback Quinn Ewers was working with quarterbacks coach Darrell Bevell. It was a role reversal.

Usually Tagovailoa is on the field about two and a half hours before kickoff with Bevell and they walk through plays while backup quarterbacks Ewers and Wilson take the field later with McCaffrey. 

By the way, Tagovailoa appeared very relaxed in the locker room during the week despite his demotion. He casually mixed with players and although he was probably frustrated and bewildered about his demotion, from a distance he seemed to have had a burden lifted from his shoulders.

During the game Tagovailoa stood on the sideline with a grease board and seemed to be writing something (formations?) and showing it to the offense before the snap. Tagovailoa was into the game all day as opposed to being withdrawn. He congratulated Ewers a few times after good plays or scoring drives.

Throwback uniforms, alums mark 60-year anniversary weekend

The Dolphins wore their throwback uniforms Sunday, basically meaning the ones from the coach Don Shula era, as they enjoyed their 60-year anniversary weekend. Dozens of alums were at Hard Rock Stadium to cap a weekend of activities. 

The end zones were adorned with the diamond pattern of yesteryear and the logo at midfield was the old-school Dolphins logo. At halftime the alums were recognized/honored as well as a number of fans who have been season ticket holders since 1966, the Dolphins’ first season.

Crowd at Hard Rock Stadium was, well, lacking

The crowd at Hard Rock Stadium was about the same size as the past few games, meaning about 70 percent full, and there were lots of Bengals fans. You could see all the orange and black in the stands (you had to be careful not to mistake the Cincinnati orange from the Miami orange), and you could hear the cheers when Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins scored in the first quarter to give the Bengals a 7-0 lead and when Cincinnati did good things, which was often.

Dolphins fans have lost interest, for the most part.

Burrow Bowl anniversary…almost

It was Dec. 22, 2020, almost seven years to the day, the game that Miami and Cincinnati played in what became known as the “Burrow Bowl.” The Dolphins defeated the Bengals, 38-35, in overtime at Hard Rock Stadium. Cincinnati, which scored 23 fourth-quarter points to make it a game, dropped to 1-14, eventually finished 2-14, got the No. 1 pick of the 202 draft and selected quarterback Joe Burrow. The Dolphins finished 5-11, got the fifth pick of the draft and selected Tagovailoa. The rest is history.

Granted, the Dolphins wouldn’t have been assured of the No. 1 pick if they’d have lost to Cincinnati. But the game has taken on that moniker.

McDaniel creates offense for Ewers instead of sticking with Tagovailoa offense

Dolphins quarterback Quinn Ewers had an offense designed for his skill set, not for quarterback Tagovailoa’s skill set, which was often the case for Miami’s backup quarterbacks in the past (Skylar Thompson, Teddy Bridgewater, Tyler “Snoop” Huntley, Tim Boyle).

For example, in the third quarter we saw Ewers convert a fourth and one with a quarterback sneak, something that fits his skill set but not Tagovailoa’s. Unfortunately Ewers was 10 inches short on the sneak.

Still, the adjustment was made.

Tagovailoa thrives on vision, timing, accuracy and anticipation. Ewers rolled out a bit more, used his arm strength more and threw downfield more.

Credit McDaniel, who usually has his backup quarterbacks play the Tagovailoa offense, for making the change. Last season it wasn’t until Huntley’s second playing appearance of the season that the offense was tweaked to his strengths.

Opponents scoring in bunches recently

Cincinnati had six consecutive scoring possessions, save for a one-play possession to end the second quarter, from the second quarter through early in the fourth quarter. The Bengals, who started the streak with a field goal, had touchdowns on the last five of those possessions.

Pittsburgh had four consecutive touchdown possessions in Monday’s 28-15 Miami loss.

Run defense lacking again

Miami’s defense entered the game allowing three of its last six opponents to rush for at least 135 yards. They went 1-2 in those games.

Cincinnati rushed for 105 yards on 26 carries.

Miami’s run defense was 27th in the league entering the game at 132.1 yards per game.

The Dolphins rushed for 129 yards on 28 carries.

Brunskill experiment limited

Guard Daniel Brunskill, who has played tight end/sixth offensive lineman in the second half of the season, did it sparingly Sunday. Much of the run game was abandoned because the Dolphins fell behind early. Miami trailed, 17-14, at halftime, fell behind, 24-14, in the third quarter and rushing opportunities diminished from there.

Could Aaron Rodgers be a possibility?

The names bandied about as a possible bridge veteran quarterback will probably be voluminous. One player who has recently looked very good in the past year, especially in his three games against the Dolphins, has been Aaron Rodgers. After hearing Rodgers say that playing in cold-weather games is NOT one of his favorite things, I often remember the interview John Elway gave at Pier 66 in Fort Lauderdale the day after playing his final game, winning Super Bowl MVP in topping the Broncos at Hard Rock Stadium in 1999. Elway noted how loose he had felt in the South Florida balmy weather, saying that he probably would have played a few more years in those conditions. I wonder about Rodgers. — Steve Svekis

Immobility at quarterback is basically a non-starter in today’s NFL

One of the aspects of the Dolphins’ offense becoming inept was that it quarterback could be totally disregarded as a run threat. In his past 21 starts, Tua Tagovailoa has one rushing first down, and he hasn’t had a rushing touchdown in more than four years. Meanwhile, quarterback mobility has been at a premium in the advanced level of the postseason. In the final seven games of the past three postseasons (divisional games, conference championships and the Super Bowl), these have been the average number of non-kneeldown runs by the winning QBs per game:

2022: 5.3;

2023: 5.0;

2024: 8.8.

The Achane 2,000-yard watch update

After his 90 yards against the Bengals, Dolphins star third-year running back De’Von Achane sits at 1,726 total yards with two games remaining. While the franchise-record holder, Ricky Williams in 2002, seems out of reach with 2,216 yards, the current second-place season of Tyreek Hill’s 2023 and its 1,814 yards, could be passed against Tampa Bay next week. As amazing as Williams’ 2,216 is, it is even more so when considering it came in the 16-game era (138.5 yards per game).

Tyreek Hill elevated everyone

As Tua Tagovailoa loses his starting quarterback position, it should be reiterated the degree to which Tyreek Hill has elevated his quarterback’s production. Hill has had four quarterbacks who each have had at least 90 passes in games Hill has started and also 90 without Hill.

That quartet is Patrick Mahomes, Tagovailoa, Alex Smith and Matt Moore:

Mahomes had a 106.0 passer rating with Hill, but only a 97.3 without him. A 12.6% better PR with Hill;

Tagovailoa had a 100.3 with Hill, but a below-NFL-median 89.1 without him;

Moore: 100.9 with and 81.9 without (a 23.2% betterment);

Smith: 97.8 with and 84.8 without (plus-15.3%).

Hill was an absolute force-multiplier on offense.

Tagovailoa versus Herbert goes deeper than their massive pass-game difference

Among the cavalcade of data points where Justin Herbert has been superior to Tua Tagovailoa has been the work he does with his feet. While Tagovailoa had one rushing first down in his past 21 starts (and less than 500 yards rushing for his career), Justin Herbert, who the Dolphins passed on to pick the little lefty, had 464 rushing yards this season alone, with 43 run first downs in HIS past 21 starts.

Burrow’s team scoring a pile of points has not been a recent sure-fire winning formula

The Bengals have scored at least 33 points nine times in Joe Burrow’s past 21 starts. Incredibly, he only improved to 4-5 in those games with the Dolphins domination.

On deck: Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Hard Rock Stadium, 1 p.m. Sunday

Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield, in his eighth year in the NFL, will make his first visit to Hard Rock Stadium as a professional, though he did lose in a CFP semifinal in Miami Gardens on New Year’s Eve 2015.