Scooter & Hum: Day 254, Quasi-Quarantine: Dolphins-Broncos Game 10 Review

Miami's five-game winning streak ended with a resounding thud, as the Dolphins were thoroughly outplayed and outphysicaled by a focused Denver squad. The big news will be the benching of Tua Tagovailoa late in the game, but in addition to his tentative play, the 'Fins had no answer for the Broncos' punishing rushing attack.

The reality is that Miami was fortunate to be in position to tie or win at the end -- and the deeper reality is that, while the Dolphins' rebuilding program is ahead of schedule, the franchise is not in position to skip steps. Denver and Vic Fangio (it happens, but the Dolphins were also massively outcoached in this one) shined a bright light on just how far Miami has to go, and the 'Fins response the rest of the way will be telling.

Offense

Tua was indecisive throughout, completing just 11 of 20 passes for 83 yards while taking six sacks. He managed a touchdown on a pretty fade to DeVante Parker, but also missed speedy Jakeem Grant deep on a couple of occasions and was nearly intercepted three times (one was overturned by penalty). Tua also was unable to escape the pocket for consequential scrambles as he has done early in his Miami career, and with a lack of offensive firepower at the skill positions, his slow decision-making process sunk the Dolphins.
Ryan Fitzpatrick came in hot and connected on 12 of 18 passes for 117 yards in limited time. His willingness to make contested throws paid off, and he led the 'Fins to a field goal and a lengthy drive that could have tied the game. However, he was unable to look off the safety, and Justin Simmons picked off his pass to Parker in the end zone to cement Denver's victory. Much was made of the decision to pull Tua, but I was a fan of the move. Tua was clearly not seeing the field well and the offense was desperate for the spark that Fitz customarily provides, as well as his decisiveness.
Salvon Ahmed couldn't get a ton of traction in the running game, with a 14-yard burst highlight his 43 yards on a dozen carries. He did manage five catches out of the backfield, picking up 31 yards. Matt Breida returned in this one, but inexplicably got just two touches, totaling four yards on his rushes. Patrick Laird contributed an eight-yard catch.
Parker reeled in six grabs -- many while being hit -- for 61 yards and a score. His nine targets were followed by six for Grant, but the latter caught just two passes for 12 yards (he added a three-yard run on an end-around). Antonio Callaway made his long-awaited Dolphins debut, and he snared a crucial 13-yarder. Malcolm Perry had 23 yards on three grabs, but I'd like to see him get north-south a bit more. Mack Hollins had a catch for nine yards, but his entry into the receiver rotation is a sign that more weapons are desperately needed. Grant is struggling to take on No. 2 receiver duties, and the 'Fins could be in the unenviable position of needing Callaway to be the dependable threat this group needs.
Gesicki's value rises when Fitz is in the game, and he came up with a 25-yarder almost as soon as Fitz entered the game. Overall, the lanky tight end had four grabs for 43 yards, but no other tight end caught a pass.
The offensive line was an unmitigated disaster against Fangio's scheme. Left tackle Austin Jackson gave up an unheard-of nine pressures, and former Wolfpack standout Bradley Chubb turnstiled him on seemingly every play. The running game also went nowhere, meaning there was blame to go around for the entire unit, but right tackle Jesse Davis also struggled in a big way.

Defense

Denver averaged almost six yards a carry, punishing Miami's amoeba fronts with the one-two punch of Melvin Gordon (84 yards, two touchdowns) and Phillip Lindsay (82 yards). Drew Lock was comfortable all day, going without a sack on 30 attempts and keeping the Dolphins off-balance with 270 passing yards. An underrated athlete, he also burned the 'Fins for 23 yards on the ground.
While Xavien Howard held Jerry Jeudy to just three catches for 37 yards, Miami had no coverage and no answer for Tim Patrick. The big man had 119 receiving yards -- including a 61-yarder -- and was seen running free through the secondary on multiple occasions.
On the edges, ends Emmanuel Ogbah (three tackles, one for a loss) and Shaq Lawson (two tackles, one QB hit) were quiet, while Andrew Van Ginkel had a couple of penalties, but had a hit on the quarterback and forced a fumble to keep the Dolphins in the game. On the interior, Zach Sieler was his usual steady self, posting three tackles, including one for a loss, while Raekwon Davis continued to show progress, recording three stops in the contest.
The linebackers struggled to get off second-level blocking by a physical Denver offensive line. Run specialist Elandon Roberts had five tackles, including one for a loss, but Jerome Baker and Kamu Grugier-Hill combined for just three tackles, as the Broncos offensive attack played away from their strengths. Kyle Van Noy notched four stops and two QB hits, but he was targeted in the run game and struggled to shed blocks.
Eric Rowe led the way in the secondary with 10 tackles -- including seven solos -- and Bobby McCain added six stops, but both were in reactive mode instead of being in a game flow that opens up game-changing opportunities. "X" had one of his best games, posting seven tackles, six solos, a tackle for loss, and two pass breakups, while baiting Lock into yet another interception early in the game. Nik Needham played another solid game, recording four solo tackles and two pass breakups, while rookie Brandon Jones got caught in the wash a few times on his way to two tackles, including one for a loss. Byron Jones had a quiet game with three tackles, but did make a key third-down stop.

Special teams

In a game where Miami desperately needed a jumpstart from the kicking game, there was none to be had, despite a near-punt block by the 'Fins. No mistakes were made, and Clayton Fejedelem was great in coverage (and so was Calvin Munson) but the Dolphins couldn't afford a push in this phase of the game, and that's what they got.
Grant had a single punt return for six yards, while Miami didn't have an opportunity to return a kickoff.
Jason Sanders did his thing, connecting on two field goals -- including a 53-yarder -- and an extra point.
Matt Haack was busy, punting six times for a respectable 47.3-yard average, but he had only a single punt downed inside the Broncos' 20-yard line.

Momentum plays

The Dolphins started the game with a three-and-out that featured a pair of missed deep balls to Grant and resulted in a punt, but good kick coverage contributed to a pick by Howard on a third-down ball across the middle. A Tua interception two plays later was nullified by a holding penalty, and strong running by Ahmed set up a fade to Parker, who showed his toe-drag swag for a Dolphins score and the early 7-0 lead.
A few drives later, Lock converted a 3rd & 13 with a 14-yard run, and Denver converted the run-heavy drive with a Gordon plunge from a yard out to tie the score at 7-7.
In the second quarter, Lock found Patrick on an RPO for 61 yards, but good third-down pressure from Van Noy forced an incompletion and a Broncos field goal to make it 10-7.
On the next drive, a couple of stellar Parker grabs moved the 'Fins into scoring position, but Tua froze and took a sack on third down, leading to a 41-yarder from Sanders to tie it up.
Despite being pinned deep, Denver responded with a lengthy drive, powered by Gordon bursts. A strong tackle by Byron Jones forced a field goal in the final seconds, staking the Broncos to a 13-10 halftime lead.
On its first second-half drive, Denver caught a break when a pass to Noah Fant that looked like a fumble was inexplicably not reviewed. The Broncos went for it on 4th & 1 a few plays later, but Raekwon Davis & Co. swarmed the play, giving Miami the ball.
Later in the quarter, the Broncos converted a 3rd & 8 with a terrible pass interference call on rookie Noah Igbinoghene and a personal foul on Grugier-Hill. That set up a relatively easy touchdown run for Gordon, giving Denver a 20-10 lead as the Miami defense seemed to be tiring.
After following up another deep miss to Grant with a nice third-down strike to Callaway, Tua was sacked awkwardly by Chubb to force a 4th & 29 punt. The play would be the last one of the day for Tua.
Miami narrowly missed a punt block after a Denver three-and-out, and Fitzpatrick entered the fray. With strikes to Parker (7 yards), Gesicki (25) and Ahmed (11), Fitz moved Miami into scoring range, but a near interception and another Chubb tackle ended the drive. Sanders crushed a 53-yard field goal to keep Miami within striking distance at 20-13 with 7:51 remaining.
Denver responded in a big way, powering down the field via the run and aided by an iffy personal foul on Van Ginkel. He redeemed himself by jarring the ball loose from Gordon at the Miami 1-yard line, with Rowe pouncing on the ball to give Miami life. Randomly, the officials originally awarded Gordon a ridiculous touchdown, forcing an overturn on replay.
Benefiting from a bad personal foul call on Chubb, Miami got out of its own end. Parker converted a 3rd & 11 with a nifty catch and run down the sideline, then Perry added 13 more to set Miami up at the 17-yard line of Denver. After an end zone shot to Gesicki was nearly picked, Fitz was intercepted by Simmons in the end zone with just 1:03 left. Parker was briefly open, but Fitz stared him down, allowing Simmons to make a great play on the ball.
The Broncos were able to run out the clock, lofting a deep pass on fourth down that was caught as time expired.