Scooter & Hum: Day 207, Quasi-Quarantine: Dolphins-Seahawks Game 4 Review

To continue a recurring theme, the 'Fins are getting closer. Miami was in a dogfight with one of the NFC's top teams until the final stretch, when the Seahawks established some breathing room.

Not to oversimplify matters, but in games like this one, the bottom line is that one team has Russell Wilson and one team doesn't.

Offense

This was the game that officially launched the Tua Watch. Ryan Fitzpatrick, frankly, was off for most of the game. He could easily have thrown four first-half interceptions if not for Seattle drops, and he seemed to miss more open receivers than usual. Fitz gonna Fitz, so he did contribute momentum-building scrambles and kept the 'Fins in striking distance, but his performance on a day that saw Miami fall two games under .500 was cause for concern.
The lack of balance caught up with Miami here, as Fitz had to wing it 45 times and looked a bit dead-armed at times. Is this why the offense makes no attempts to stretch the field anymore?
To be fair, Fitz got little help from the offensive line, which took a step back in this one. There were very few holes in the running game and Fitz often looked as if he had to throw it a couple of beats earlier than he wanted due to pressure, even though Seattle only had a single sack.
As much as an offensive guard can, Solomon Kindley continues to stand out as a tone-setter on offense. He's fun to watch for an interior offensive lineman.
Mike Gesicki was bracketed for much of the game and held to a single catch, taking away a key target for Fitz. Durham Smythe did catch a couple of balls, but as a big, physical tight end, I'd like to see him challenge defenders instead of running out of bounds.

Matt Breida showed his speed on a 26-yard catch and run of a short pass, but he missed a hole on another run. It seems he's struggling to earn the confidence of the staff, but his playmaking ability is much-needed on an offense with few of them.
Speaking of playmakers, Lynn Bowden, Jr., made his first Miami appearance, making a 5-yard run on a Wildcat look. The idea that he is at least being added to certain packages adds some measure of hope.
DeVante Parker continues to show his maturation as a complete receiver, working underneath routes and consistently showing good post-catch ability. His 10 grabs for 110 yards were complemented by Isaiah Ford's four catches for 48 yards.
Preston Williams continues to struggle, held to a single catch for 15 yards and a two-point conversion. Miami's current one-dimensional, underneath passing game does not play to his strengths.
I type this every week, but Myles Gaskin had to run much bigger than his size for a hard-earned 40 yards, and he added three catches. Breida had six touches for 48 yards, while Jordan Howard had three touches for -1 yards.

Defense

Another ugly outing by the linebacking corps, marked by missed tackles. After a strong effort vs. Jacksonville, Kyle Van Noy was missing in action, and it's become clear that this unit performs as well as he does.
Christian Wilkins occasionally lined up at defensive end, and it would appear that Miami is looking for ways to jumpstart his play.
Bobby McCain was extremely active on safety blitzes, forcing Russell Wilson to throw the ball away a couple of times. It was good to see the staff trying to manufacture pressure that the defensive front has struggled to provide.
In general, Chris Carson met little to no resistance until he was past the line of scrimmage on way too many of his runs. As a big back, he's hard enough to bring down without a head of steam.
Ends Emmanuel Ogbah and Shaq Lawson flashed at times -- especially Ogbah -- but more consistent play is needed across the entire defensive front.
Zach Seiler continues to steal reps on the defensive interior with his hard play, but Wilkins and Davon Godchaux need to step up in big ways.
The secondary struggled, but to be fair, Wilson had so much time to throw that Seattle's receivers were going to be open no matter what.

Special Teams

Shockingly, Matt Haack only had to punt once, pointing up how effective Miami's offense was between the 20s.
What can you say about Jason Sanders? His bid for the Pro Bowl continued, as he converted all five field goal attempts. His longest was only 45 yards, though, revealing how inept the Dolphins were inside the red zone.
Jakeem Grant had an 11-yard punt return, but that was the only opportunity. As his role in the base offense expands (3 catches vs. Seattle), maybe Bowden will finally join the return fray.

Momentum Plays

A couple of plays into the game, left tackle Austin Jackson got beat, leading to a bad Fitz throw for a pick that Seattle quickly turned into a score 5 minutes into the game.
On Miami's next drive, Fitz was whistled for crossing the line of scrimmage before finding G-Sick for a nice gain. The announcers said that the 'Fins should have reviewed the play, as Fitz made a legal throw in this instance.
On a promising Dolphins drive, Fitz got hot, hitting four nice passes in a row. However, a phantom holding call on Ereck Flowers on a well-constructed screen play followed by an uncalled personal foul on Seattle forced a Miami field goal to make it 7-3.
Zero pass rush gave Wilson all day on the ensuring drive, and only a rare dropped pass by Tyler Lockett held the Seahawks to a 54-yarder for a 10-3 lead as the fourth quarter ended.
An uncalled facemask on Seattle followed by another dropped Fitz interception on a terrible throw led to another Jason Sanders three-pointer to make it 10-6.
A big hit by Jamal Perry jarred a touchdown from Seattle's Greg Olsen, but after Miami declined a holding call on the play, the Seahawks went for it on 4th. A huge sack by Ogbah gave the ball back to the 'Fins and created momentum.
The following drive related on short throws to the backs and tight ends to move into the red zone, but Fitz missed an open receiver, creating yet another Sanders field goal to make it 10-9 with 24 seconds left in the first half.
A busted coverage by rookie corner Noah Iggy (I'm not spelling his name every week) led to a wide-open long ball from Wilson to David Moore, covering 57 yards. With zero pressure, Wilson had all day to find a tight end in the end zone with just three seconds left to stake Seattle to a 17-9 lead -- a brutal turn of events that proved to be the play of the game and a devastating gut punch after a respectable first half.
At the end of a long and potentially game-seizing Seattle drive to start the send half, 'Fins corner Xavien Howard jumped a route by Metcalf to make an end zone interception and give the Dolphins life.
Miami's next drive featured the full 'Fins brand: underneath passes, desperate dives for first downs, and emotional Fitz runs. Predictably, it faltered in the red zone, so the Dolphins trotted Sanders out yet again to cut the lead to 17-12.
After an exchange of punts, Miami got underway again, relying on Isaiah Ford and Gaskin to get in scoring range. However, an inexplicable play call that saw Gaskin try to turn the corner on a delayed handoff on 3rd-and-3 led to a FIFTH field goal to make it 17-15 with 8:31 left.
A textbook Seahawks followed, with Wilson throwing darts, including a back-corner throw to beat Iggy on a play that saw Miami have 12 men on the field anyway. Seattle jumped ahead, 24-15, with 5:24 remaining.
The Dolphins tried to mount a drive, but right tackle Jesse Davis was beat, leading to an ugly Fitz pick. Missed tackles plagued Miami on the ensuing drive, and when Carson punched it in to make it 31-15 with just 4 minutes left, the game was all but over.
The 'Fins frantically raced down the field, punctuated by Fitz's shoulder-lowering scramble for a touchdown and a conversion to Williams to cut it to 31-23 with 1:50 left.
Miami had Carson stopped on a pivotal third-down play on the following drive, but he was randomly given a first down, allowing Seattle to kneel on it the rest of the way.