Scooter & Hum: Day 663, Quasi-Quarantine: Dolphins-Titans Game 16 Review

Stop me if you've heard this one before : The Dolphins claw themselves into contention and head out in the road amid shaky weather conditions to tangle with one of the conference's top teams in pursuit of a precious playoff spot ... and promptly get rolled.

Yup. It happened again. In yet another of a long line of ugly year-ending efforts, Miami hung in at Tennessee for roughly three quarters before succumbing to mistakes, an inept offensive scheme, and yes, officiating. And poof, just like that, a seven-game winning streak -- and a season -- were gone.

Coach Brian Flores should not be on the hot seat at this point, but it's fair to say that the 'Fins' tank job a couple of years back and investment in draft capital has not succeeded. While general manager Chris Grier is likely to keep getting passes, one would hope that a seemingly unending collection of horrific free-agent decisions and poor draft classes will eventually force a change at the top. But hey, there is still one game left, thanks to the NFL's decision to go a 17-game regular season.

On to the predictable recap ...

Offense

The 'Fins averaged just 4.3 yards per play and went 3 of 12 on third downs and 1 of 3 on fourth downs. To be kind, the offense looked out of sync and uncoached all afternoon long, leaving one to question whether the team actually practiced all week.
Tua Tagovailoa was 18 of 38 for 205 yards and was sacked four times, intercepted once, ran twice for a yard, and fumbled three times. I've worked hard to stay out of the Tua fray, but he was really, REALLY bad in this one, missing a lot of open guys and displaying deteriorated mechanics. Besides that, things are looking pretty, pretty good. Jacoby Brissett came on for a single play, throwing maybe the best pass of the afternoon (it was incomplete) and drawing a personal foul when his head was nearly ripped off by Bud Dupree.
Duke Johnson ran hard, making the most of limited touches since it was difficult to involve him more as the game got out of hand. He rushed seven times for 49 yards, added two catches for 16 yards, recovered a fumble, and generally acquitted himself very well in his 36 snaps. Most of Myles Gaskin's five carries for 23 yards came in garbage time, and he was targeted once without a catch in 15 snaps. Bizarrely, Phillip Lindsay was primarily used as a kick returner, notching two carries for a yard and reeling in an 8-yard catch in only seven snaps.
At receiver, DeVante Parker caught four passes for 46 yards on a whopping 13 targets, but he fought through a lot of uncalled contact and made a couple of contested grabs, despite being whistled for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for protesting an incompetent official. Jaylen Waddle hauled in three catches for 47 yards -- with a long of 45 -- on his seven targets, but he also dropped a couple of passes and was largely absent. Mack Hollins was targeted once in a dozen snaps while Isaiah "Zombie" Ford only had two targets (1 catch for 0 yards in 17 snaps). In another odd twist, Albert Wilson -- who at times has been a focal point of Miami's "attack" -- did not get in the game.
Mike Gesicki was targeted seven times at tight end, pulling in four for 51 yards, though he did not come up with a couple he usually catches. Durham Smythe pulled in three for 37 yards, though he was flagged for an illegal shift. Adam Shaheen got 19 snaps but did not factor, Cethan Carter got a single snap from scrimmage to go with 14 special-teams plays, and rookie Hunter Long was inactive after some rocky performances.
The offensive line surrendered 13 pressures and 10 hurries, with four allowed by left guard Austin Jackson, who was also called for an illegal man downfield penalty and seemed to regress in this one. His fellow guard, Robert Hunt, had an overall grade of 82.8 and a pass blocking grade of 89.1. Left tackle Liam Eichenberg recovered another Tua fumble and may have set an unofficial team record in that category, while fellow tackle Jesse Davis was beaten on the regular. Center Michael Dieter was whistled for holding, while former starter Solomon Kindley finally was spotted, getting three snaps when Jackson had to come out for a series.

Defense

One-time Miami first-rounder and quarterback hopeful Ryan Tannehill wasn't asked to do much, throwing for just 120 yards. Tennessee dominated on the ground and imposed their will, averaging five yards a carry while racking up 198 rushing yards (132 from D'Onta Foreman) and a pair of ground scores. The Titans converted seven of 15 third downs and its only fourth down, allowing the home team to control it for 33:12 without a turnover (thanks to the refs). However, the Dolphin defense gave the 'Fins a chance despite the Titans consistently having great field position.
No defensive lineman graded over a 70.0 on the Pro Football Focus scale, and on the edges, this was not the type of game that suits Andrew Van Ginkel and Emmanuel Ogbah, with Van Ginkel coming up with four tackles and Ogbah posting three solos. Jaelen Phillips had two stops, including a tackle for loss, in his 23 snaps.
At tackle, Christian Wilkins was credited with a staggering 11 tackles and a stop for a loss, but he was overpowered a lot, with too many tackles occurring with him laying on his back and the running back on top of him. Zach Sieler had eight tackles, including four solo, while Raekwon Davis two tackles and a stop for loss in 39 snaps. Adam Butler had one stop in 30 snaps and narrowly missed a fumble recovery that could have turned the contest.
Among the linebackers, Elandon Roberts had eight tackles and one stop for loss, while December's AFC Defensive Player of the Month, Jerome Baker, racked up seven tackles, a sack, and a quarterback hit. Sam Eguavoen had a solo tackle and Duke Riley had a solo stop amid a rough nine snap. Calvin Munson was in and missed a tackle in his only snap, while Brennan Scarlett did not factor in his two snaps. The tone and nature of this game explicitly revealed the Dolphins' dramatic lack of depth and impact players at linebacker, with no exotic coverages or DB-heavy alignments capable of masking it
At corner, Xavien Howard had two solo tackles and a pass breakup, but he was on the wrong end of a pass interference call. Byron Jones was quiet -- recording no stats -- but was unable to get off a sustained block on Foreman's 21-yard touchdown romp.
In the slot, Eric Rowe had two tackles, including a key third-down stop in 15 snaps, while Nik Needham had a solo stop, a quarterback hit, and a horrific pass interference call go against him in 24 snaps. Justin Coleman only got a single snap on defense.
At safety, Jevon Holland had seven solo stops, a tackle for loss, and a pass breakup, despite some back-end miscommunications with Brandon Jones, who had five tackles and a roughing-the-punter flag when the game was out of reach anyway.

Special teams

Jason Sanders's shaky season continued, as he hit a 39-yarder but had a near miss on a low-trajectory 53-yarder. On the other side, Randy Bullock drilled two field goals and all four extra points.
Michael Palardy picked the worst possible time to have his worst game of the season, as he averaged 36.8 yards on his four punts, with only one inside the 20-yard line. On the flip side, Tennessee's Brett Kern put three of his four punts inside the 20 and averaged 44.3 yards per boot. In a field-position contest, Palardy's misfires and Kern's excellence really cost the Dolphins.
Lindsay returned two kickoffs for 34 yards, but the fact that the team had to turn to him in the role is an indictment of the roster.
Waddle had a 15-yard punt return that saw him initially run into his own blocker. It didn't help that Chester Rogers had 28 yards in punt returns for Tennessee and did a nice job of fielding poor punts and making himself difficult to wrangle.
Someone named Chris Milton had a Titans punt bounce off of his lid and out of bounds. I would be more upset if I knew who he was.

Momentum plays

After a strong Johnson run erased a 1st & 15, Tua held the ball too long before assuming the fetal position for a third-down sack. Palardy highlighted the poor start with the first of a series of poor punts.
The 'Fins forced a three-and-out when "X" made a third-down pass breakup, but Miami answered with a three-and-out of their own when Tua misfired for an open Hollins on 3rd & 8.
The defense rose up again, with Roberts slicing through to stop a 3rd & 1 run for a two-yard loss. The ensuing punt hit Milton in the helmet before flying out of bounds inside Miami's 15-yard line.
Yet another three-and-out followed, with Tua running for a yard on 3rd & 10. Another weak punt and 13-yard return put Tennessee in business at Miami's 46-yard line.
After a conversion on a 4th & 1 sneak, the Titans hit a play-action pass to an uncovered tight end, representing the first touchdown pass the Dolphins had allowed in five games.
After sailing a pass way over Parker's head, Tua fumbled without contact, with Tennessee pouncing on the loose ball at Miami's 14-yard line to cap a miserable first quarter for the visitors.
Despite an uncalled third-down hold on a blitzing Baker, the 'Fins got a stop when Rowe made a good, hard tackle short of the sticks, forcing a 23-yard field goal that pushed the Titans ahead, 10-0.
Two strong runs by Johnson kickstarted the following Miami possession, and Tua overcame another fumble by hitting Smythe for a fourth-down conversion. After two incompletions, the 'Fins played for a field goal by running Johnson on a 3rd & 10 draw and settling for a 39-yarder from Sanders to trim the margin to 10-3.
After an initial Tennessee third-down conversion on the next drive, the Dolphins got a crucial 3rd & 7 stop on an incompletion, but a late and mysterious pass interference was whistled on Needham to give the Titans new life. A Tannehill keeper converted another third-and-short, then Foreman burst through the line untouched and went 21 yards for the touchdown and a 17-3 lead. The flag on Needham was the first of a handful of game-turning calls in a tight contest.
A clutch grab by Gesicki on 3rd & 9 gave the 'Fins hope for a score before the half, with G-Sick pulling in another catch for a first down despite excessive uncalled contact. Three straight poor throws by Tua -- one of which was a dropped interception by Tennessee -- ended the possession, forcing a Palardy punt and two Titans runs to end the first half.
Tennessee started the second half with a third-down conversion, but Sieler jarred the ball loose from Foreman on the next play, with Ogbah coming out of the pile with the loose ball. In the second monumental blown call, the officials inexplicably gave the Titans the ball, and the home team capitalized with a long screen pass on a blitz that was a big gainer. An illegal blindside block nullified much of the yardage, allowing a Baker third-down sack to end the drive, but a misplay on the punt return allowed the ball to roll all the way to Miami's 2-yard line. In a field-position game, the blown calls and the special teams gaffes were becoming increasingly difficult to weather.
Parker bailed out Tua with a phenomenal grab to get some breathing room, then Brissett launched a perfect deep ball on a 3rd & 1 play that Waddle could not come up with. A roughing-the-passer penalty drawn by Brissett kept the drive going, and back-to-back RPO strikes to G-Sick and Smythe continued Miami's momentum. An uncalled high hit on Ford led to a 3rd & 9 that saw Tua sacked again when Davis was turnstiled. On 4th & 18, Sanders's 53-yarder hit the crossbar and bounced back to further deflate a 'Fins team looking for any positivity on the road against a hostile crowd and officiating crew.
A good spot on 3rd & 1 gave the Titans a first down on the ensuing possession, but two holding calls on Tennessee helped stymie the drive. Butler missed a chance at a crucial fumble recovery on a muffed handoff, but Miami again forced a Tennessee punt -- which again was downed inside the 10-yard line.
Starting at his own 7-yard line, Tua missed high for an open Parker, but Johnson bailed him out with a good catch and run for a first down. A reverse throw by Gesicki -- of all people -- fell incomplete in triple coverage to Parker, but a 3rd & 3 conversion to Parker was followed up with a beautiful 45-yard toss to Waddle. A pitch to Tua out of the Wildcat went nowhere and even resulted in another Tua fumble, then a 3rd & 11 miscommunication with Parker led to the ball falling harmlessly in the end zone. On 4th & 11, Tua fired a strike to Parker, who was somehow tackled and dragged down before the ball arrived without a flag in perhaps the most egregious no-call of a dismal afternoon for the crew. An incensed Parker finally drew a flag after the play, but it was for berating an official instead of the proper call. This third pivotal missed call would prove to be entirely too much for the 'Fins to overcome on this day.
Sensing blood in the water, the Titans went back to the ground game, with Foreman ripping off a 35-yard run out of the Wildcat. On a 2nd & 11, miscommunication between Holland and Brandon Jones led to another uncovered tight end on play action, and Tennessee capitalized with an easy toss and score to go up 24-3.
A tremendous third-down catch by Parker gave the following possession some hope, but three drops in four plays handed the ball back to Tennessee in Miami territory.
A roughing-the-punter penalty on Brandon Jones served as another Dolphins turnover, and Tennessee turned it into a 46-yard field goal to extend the advantage to 27-3.
On the very first play of the next drive, Gesicki managed to play a Tua pass off his own face to gift-wrap an interception for the Titans.
Three plays later, Dontrell Hilliard took a 3rd & 11 handoff and raced 39 yards untouched -- aided by an uncalled hold of Roberts -- for the final nail in a 34-3 coffin.
The Dolphins responded with four straight Gaskin runs to mercifully run out the clock and end another playoff-less campaign.