Day 558, Quasi-Quarantine: Dolphins-Bills Game 2 Review

 

In what is becoming a disturbing trend, Miami received a bitch-slapping reality check at the hands of Buffalo. The 'Fins committed three turnovers and an uncharacteristic nine penalties, and when you throw in a half-dozen or so drops, it's hard to escape the conclusion that the Dolphins just didn't seem prepared to play in dropping to 1-1.

The devastating setback at home against a division rival should lead to a lot of soul-searching for a team looking for leaders, a coaching staff looking for answers, and a fanbase looking for hope.

Offense

• The 'Fins managed 216 yards and 13 first downs, averaging just 3.1 yards per play and misfiring on all four fourth-down attempts. The unit didn't manage a single play over 20 yards, which is almost difficult to do, and managed just 71 rushing yards a week after putting up only 74.
• Tua Tagovailoa started the game, but looked tentative and frightened -- completing one of four passes for 13 yards and taking two sacks -- before being knocked out by a rib injury. Backup Jacoby Brissett gave Miami a fighting chance with his physical presence and elusiveness within the pocket, but was overrun by a horrific offensive line performance, drops, and penalties. He fired 40 passes, connecting on 24 for 169 yards, with an interception that was a great defensive play. Brissett was sacked four times, but managed eight yards on four other carries.
• Myles Gaskin had nine touches for 46 yards, but his pass protection was so bad the Dolphins almost couldn't afford to have him on the field. Salvon Ahmed carries six times for 17 yards, but was not a factor in the passing game, while Malcolm Brown took advantage of his scant opportunities to post 21 yards on five carries late in the game. It's become increasingly clear to this viewer that Brown and Ahmed need more of the share of the running back touches.
• Jaylen Waddle was the top target, catching six of eight targets, but for only 48 yards. He added a single run for four yards, but fumbled a crucial punt away and dropped another pass. DeVante Parker snared five of nine targets for 42 yards, but was mostly nullified by the Bills secondary. Albert Wilson had a couple of pivotal drops but slightly recovered when the game was out of control, catching four for 20 yards. Preston Williams caught a single ball for two yards, but dropped a couple and generally did not fight for the ball nor play up to his physical stature. Jakeem Grant had a single catch that he fumbled away in the red zone, further proof that he has been rendered almost unplayable and making his roster spot questionable. Will Fuller missed the game due to a personal issue, but with the state of the offense -- and specifically the OL -- it's not clear how his deep-route attributes could factor in.
• At tight end, Mike Gesicki was welcomed back to the game plan with three catches for 41 yards on six targets, but he didn't get much help. Head-scratching free agent signing Cethan Carter had a grab for eight yards that saw his helmet knocked off. Durham Smythe committed a false start penalty early in the game and Adam Shaheen did not factor. Miami clearly needs to find out what it has in third-rounder Hunter Long sooner rather than later.
• At the tackle spots, this was as bad a game as I can ever remember from a Dolphins offensive line -- which is obviously saying a lot. In addition to a penalty for illegal man downfield, Austin Jackson was a complete turnstile, allowing a staggering nine pressures from the left side. His bookend, Jesse Davis, gave up four pressures and largely seemed either injured or over the hill. On the interior, Robert Hunt had a hold and a false start, while Solomon Kindley was not whistled but offered no resistance. Center Mike Dieter was beaten nearly immediately on way too many occasions, and his ability to help the quarterbacks identify pressure schemes played a massive role in the overall ineptitude. The sheer woefulness up front -- a Dolphins tradition for two decades -- is mind-boggling, and from coaching on down, this unit needs a complete reboot.

Defense

• While the final point tally was out of hand, the Miami defenders hung tough, allowing just 314 total yards and 21 first downs against a high-powered attack. The 'Fins also forced a pair of turnovers, but Buffalo had excellent field position most of the game.
• Emmanuel Ogbah was active as usual, notching four tackles, three quarterbacks hits, and half a sack, though he was on the wrong end of a bad unnecessary roughness call. On the other side, Andrew Van Ginkel had four stops, two hits on the signal-caller, a forced fumble, and half a sack, though he did not provide the consistent pressure Ogbah did. First-rounder Jaelen Phillips had three stops. While this unit is still lacking one more pass rusher, it is high time to ink Ogbah to a long-term deal.
• On the interior, Zach Seiler was everywhere, posting six tackles, including four solo. Christian Wilkins had four tackles and a batted pass, and he also had good penetration in short-yardage situations. John Jenkins and Adam Butler each had a solo tackle in reserve duty. Overall, this unit held up well in the absence of Raekwon Davis.
• In the linebacking corps, Jerome Baker came up with three tackles, a pass breakup, and a forced fumble. Brandon Scarlett had three tackles, Elandon Roberts added two, and Sam Eguavoen had a solo tackle and a quarterback hit. Baker looks a step slower this year, and overall this is a unit that is crying out for another playmaker.
• At corner, Xavien Howard did Xavien Howard things, picking off a pass, breaking up two passes, and recording two tackles. Byron Jones had three solo tackles and two pass breakups, but had an opportunity at an interception that he missed. Justin Coleman was the weak link, posting three solo tackles but getting caught out of a position a few times out of the slot. Second-year first-rounder Noah Igbinoghene was once again inactive, robbing this spot of much-needed depth.
• Brandon Jones had an up-and-down game at safety, registering six tackles, recovering a fumble that he promptly fumbled again, and committing an egregious personal foul with a late hit out of bounds, to go with a hold on a punt return. Jason McCourty had three solo tackles and Eric Rowe added a couple, while rookie Jevon Holland flashed with three tackles, a fumble recovery, and two quarterback hits as an effective blitzer, though he did miss tackles on a pair of Bills touchdown runs. McCourty did not turn in a similar performance as he did in the first week of the season, and in general, the Dolphins are lacking an impact player (who might be Holland in time) at the back end of secondary.

Special Teams

• Jason Sanders is Miami's best weapon, and he did not get a chance to kick at all against Beefalo.
• Punter Michael Palardy punted five times, averaging 44.4 yards per kick and placing one inside the 20-yard line. He was not in sync with his coverage teams, as Buffalo had plenty of room on a couple of punt returns.
• Like all else, the return game left a lot to be desired, with Grant balancing a 31-yard kickoff return with a one-yard punt return and Waddle coughing up a key fumble on another punt return.

Momentum Plays

• After a first Miami drive featured two sacks as part of a three-and-out, Buffalo got a nice punt return, threw an incomplete pass, and then went 46 yards untouched on a Devin Singletary run for a near-instant 7-0 lead.
• A 17-yard run by Gaskin jumpstarted the ensuing drive, but a fourth-and-two misfire by Tua ended the drive and his day, as A.J. Epenesa fractured his ribs with a massive shot.
• Starting their second straight drive in Miami territory, Buffalo quickly moved into scoring position with a deep pass to Emmanuel Sanders over Byron Jones. Ogbah would have had Allen stopped for a third-down sack, but inexplicably leapt into the air on a pump fake, allowing a scrambling Allen to find Diggs for a short touchdown toss and a 14-0 advantage.
• A Dolphins three-and-out gave the ball right back to the Bills, but Baker jarred a ball loose, with Holland eventually pouncing on the ball at Beefalo's 42-yard line. After a taunting penalty gave Miami a first down from the 30-yard line, a Brissett pump fake got Gesicki open, but the Buffalo DB made a stellar play, peeling off his man coverage to intercept the ball.
• Back-to-back pressures by Eguavoen and Ogbah (who was held on the play) led to a near interception by Baker that would have given Miami new life.
• Brissett made a number of clutch plays on the ensuing drive, and after ducking a sack he lofted a perfect pass to Parker -- who dropped it in the end zone.
• Shaking it off, Brissett was victimized again by a drop by Wilson and a brutal fumble by Grant, who coughed it up at the Buffalo 11-yard line as he was fighting for a first down.
• "X" struck again on the next drive, jumping underneath a Diggs route for an incredible interception to give Miami the ball at Buffalo's 24-yard line.
• Facing another fourth-and-two, Brown made a nifty cut, but was dragged down by a toenail half a yard short of the first down. If he had kept his balance, he would have walked into the end zone, as there were no Beefalo defenders on that side of the field.
• A three-and-out for the Bills gave the 'Fins solid field position at their 35, allowing Brissett to go to work again. After a couple of first downs, Wilson dropped another before Epenesa forced a very shaky grounding call on Brissett. A 3rd & 20 screen to Waddle saw the rookie make a little out of a lot, but Miami inexplicably passed up a long field goal attempt by their only weapon in Sanders.
• Luck was on Beefalo's side again, as Miami forced a long third down, then tipped the pass at the line of scrimmage, with the ball improbably landing softly in the middle of three Dolphins players.
• With good field position looming, a seemingly-on-the-take Waddle muffed the punt twice, gift-wrapping the ball to the Bills at the Miami 42-yard line.
• Jones failed to intercept an Allen deep ball on the next play, but Buffalo missed a 53-yarder, allowing Miami to kneel on the ball to escape the half that saw them squander numerous opportunities to make it a game.
• The second half started with Miami forgetting about COVID denier Cole Beasley, who socially distanced himself to an easy 23 yards. Coleman extended the Beefalo drive by missing a tackle, then compounding matters by getting whistled for a facemask penalty. A third-down play saw Allen make an extremely difficult cross-body throw to Diggs to convert, setting up a shot to Dawson Knox, who beat McCourt for a low ball in the end zone. The devastating score seemed to deflate Miami, who now trailed 21-0.
• A no-call on clear interference on G-Sick was overcome by a third-down strike to Parker, but a drop by Waddle and a false start led to another 'Fins punt. With the game getting chippy due to some uncalled late hits on Beefalo, Brandon Jones stupidly pushed Allen well out of bounds to extend the following drive. McCourty nearly intercepted another Allen floater, but he was picked up by Ogbah and Van Ginkel, who combined to sack Allen on third down to force a punt.
• Under constant pressure, Brissett pieced together another drive, but back-to-back targets to Preston Williams led to an incompletion and a fourth-down drop, giving Buffalo the ball at Miami's 41-yard line.
• A fourth-down run and an awful unnecessary roughness call on Ogbah put the Bills in business, and Zack Moss paid it off with a 7-yard run, effectively salting the game away at 28-0.
• Back-to-back horrific blocking attempts by second-year bust left tackle Austin Jackson nearly got Brissett decapitated, leading to another three-and-out.
• With the game in hand, Beefalo elected to throw deep anyway, and Howard just missed an interception he usually makes. Phillips was held without a call, allowing a third-down conversion for the Bills, and poor awareness by Coleman allowed a first-down scramble by Allen. The conversion set up another score by Moss, who somehow ran through a massive hit by Roberts at the goal line for a 35-0 margin.
• Another cheap shot on Brissett was finally flagged, and hard running by Brown helped move Miami into Buffalo territory. A fourth-down drop by a wide-open Ahmed was a symbolic punctuation of a demoralizing day, with Brissett making an amazing play to give the Dolphins a chance, only to see a teammate let him down again. Buffalo knelt on the ball to mercifully end the contest.

2021 Schedule

Miami 17, New England 16 (1-0)

Buffalo 35, Miami 0 (1-1)