The Miami Dolphins welcomed Joe Burrow, Ja\u2019Marr Chase, Chase Brown and company to Hard Rock Stadium for a clash in sunny South Florida on Sunday \u2014 with Jeff Hafley\u2019s squad looking for their first win on the season. Unfortunately for Miami, as the dust settled, the Dolphins fell to their opponent once again \u2014 dropping their record to a disappointing 0-5 on the season.<\/p>\n
There were some positives to take away from Sunday\u2019s 31-24 loss, including another encouraging outing from running back Ollie Gordon II. Unfortunately, Miami\u2019s special teams continued to be a problem, and quarterback Malik Willis delivered a performance that made overcoming the team\u2019s other shortcomings nearly impossible.<\/p>\n
As we do after every game, let\u2019s take a look at the good, the bad, and the ugly from Miami\u2019s week five loss to Cincinnati.<\/p>\n
Ollie Gordon II continues to make the most of his opportunity<\/p>\n
Losing De\u2019Von Achane to a season-ending knee injury was a significant blow to Miami\u2019s offense. Achane was one of the Dolphins\u2019 most explosive playmakers, and replacing that kind of production was never going to be easy.<\/p>\n
The second-year running back continued to show that he deserves a significant role in Miami\u2019s offense, finishing Sunday\u2019s contest with 88 rushing yards and a touchdown on 18 carries. Gordon averaged 4.9 yards per attempt and repeatedly gave the Dolphins a reliable option on the ground with his hard running style.<\/p>\n
Gordon opened the scoring for Miami with a one-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, capping off the team\u2019s opening drive and giving Dolphins fans a reason to believe this offense might finally be finding something to build around.<\/p>\n
While the Dolphins ultimately came up short, Gordon\u2019s performance was another encouraging sign. He ran with physicality, showed patience by allowing his blocks to develop, and did a good job turning his opportunities into productive gains.<\/p>\n
Miami needs to find an offensive identity without Achane, and Gordon is making a strong case that the ground game can remain a meaningful part of that identity. Miami\u2019s power-back deserves credit for stepping into a larger role and delivering. Predictably, there are very few bright spots on this winless football team, but Gordon\u2019s continued development is certainly one of them.<\/p>\n
Miami\u2019s weak special teams unit strikes again<\/p>\n
While going against Burrow, Chase and and the rest of the Bengals\u2019 offense was always going to be a tough match-up, the Dolphins immediately made things harder for themselves by allowing an 81-yard return on the opening kick.<\/p>\n
That massive kickoff return set up and easy opening drive for Cincinnati \u2014 which ultimately ended in just three plays with a touchdown pass from the opposing quarterback. Miami had barely settled into the game before finding themselves in a hole, and the special teams breakdown immediately put additional pressure on a team that has struggled to play complementary football all season long.<\/p>\n
A strong special teams unit could be a source of stability for a struggling ball club. Instead, Miami continues to surrender field position and give opponents easy opportunities they should have to work for instead.<\/p>\n
The problems weren\u2019t limited to the opening kickoff, either. Dolphins\u2019 kicker Riley Patterson also missed an extra point following Kevin Coleman Jr.\u2018s fourth-quarter receiving touchdown. It didn\u2019t matter much in the end since Miami didn\u2019t recover the ensuing onside kick (surprise, surprise), but leaving a point on the field only added to the frustration of the day.<\/p>\n
The Dolphins have enough problems to address without their special teams unit adding another one to the weekly checklist.<\/p>\n
Malik Willis\u2019 three turnovers sink Miami<\/p>\n
There\u2019s plenty of season left, but Malik Willis\u2019 performances are leaving more to be desired thus far \u2014 to put it lightly. His three turnover day on Sunday was the defining story of the Dolphins\u2019 latest defeat.<\/p>\n
Willis finished with 15 completions on 27 attempts for 136 passing yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. He also lost a fumble \u2014 bringing his Sunday total to three turnovers. His late rushing touchdown provided a little life to his statline, but it couldn\u2019t erase the damage done earlier in the contest.<\/p>\n
The turnovers were bad enough, but the decision-making and inconsistency surrounding them made matters worse.<\/p>\n
Miami needs their quarterback to protect the football, make sound decisions, and give the offense a chance to compete. Instead, Willis repeatedly put the Dolphins in difficult situations by going \u201cbig-play-hunting\u201d instead of taking what the defense gave him \u2014 making an already challenging afternoon even harder.<\/p>\n
The first half was particularly damaging, as Miami struggled to sustain drives while Cincinnati built a 21-7 lead. The Bengals capitalized on their opportunities, while the Willis-led Dolphins failed to make the plays necessary to keep pace.<\/p>\n
To be fair, Willis isn\u2019t operating in a perfect situation. His supporting cast is largely inexperienced and they\u2019ve had their own struggles, but a good quarterback lifts his team up when times get tough, and Willis isn\u2019t doing that at the moment. Despite his struggles, the flashes he\u2019s shown, while infrequent, should remind the fanbase that his athleticism can be a mighty weapon \u2014 as demonstrated by his 39-yard scramble late in the game. He finished the contest with six carries for 63 rushing yards.<\/p>\n
However, the turnovers are impossible to ignore. A quarterback can survive an occasional bad throw. He can overcome a stalled drive or a negative play. What he cannot do is consistently hand the opposition extra possessions and expect the rest of the team to compensate.<\/p>\n
At 0-5, the Dolphins need to determine whether Willis can be a dependable part of their future or whether they need to explore other options. Sunday\u2019s performance did little to inspire confidence, but again, there are plenty of games to go. For the sake of the franchise, let\u2019s hope he turns things around.<\/p>\n
The Dolphins find themselves sitting at 0-5 heading into a much needed bye week. They have a lot of things to work on in all aspects of the game. Do you think they can come back from their off week with a victory against the New York Jets? Let me know in the comments below or on Twitter at @MBrave13. Fins up.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Miami Dolphins welcomed Joe Burrow, Ja\u2019Marr Chase, Chase Brown and company to Hard Rock Stadium for a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":425534,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[123,135179,125,124],"class_list":["post-425533","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-miami","tag-miami-dolphins-analysis","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/425533","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=425533"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/425533\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/425534"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=425533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=425533"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=425533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}