Miami Dolphins

2022 - 12 - 12

Post cover — Image courtesy of "MiamiDolphins"

Three Takeaways: Week 14 at Chargers (MiamiDolphins)

The Dolphins took an 8-3 record out west to California and return back to South Florida an 8-5 team. An opportunity to respond and get back on track will ...

"Those types of things happen when you're hustling to block and when you're hustling and straining as offensive linemen, sometimes when the ball does come out, you can find yourself in a fortunate situation," McDaniel said of the first touchdown. Sunday night, in Los Angeles, it was a 60-yard dime in the third quarter that brought Miami to within three. "I thought the defense played well enough for us to win," McDaniel said. It was Hill's second touchdown of 50-plus yards following a wild offensive fumble return for a 57-yard touchdown in the first half. It's easy to point fingers one way or another, but what I'll challenge the team is to do exactly as I'm going to do, which is you're just accountable and look at everything you can do better." Still, games never feel over with the Dolphins quick-strike ability on offense. Unfortunately, we had to learn it the hard way. Tagovailoa was just 10-of-28 throwing the football with just two completions on seven throws of 10-plus air yards between the numbers. The Dolphins took an 8-3 record out west to California and return back to South Florida an 8-5 team. Coming into the game, the Chargers were allowing a league-high 5.4 yards per rush. It's very disappointing for us to go out there as an offense and show what we showed. One area the Dolphins offense had really exploited defenses this season was the intermediate passing game.

Dolphins-Chargers: The Five Biggest Plays (DolphinMaven)

Breaking down the five plays that most decided the outcome in the Miami Dolphins' 23-17 loss against the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium.

The Dolphins pretty much were done after the Chargers chewed up 8:35 off the clock — not to mention the Dolphins timeouts — and tacked on a Cameron Dicker field goal that made it a two-score game. There's certainly no guarantee the Dolphins would have driven 50 yards for a touchdown in 1:07 without a timeout even had they recovered, but at least they would have had a shot. The Dolphins were looking at the possibility of a comeback win when they got the ball on offense at the start of the fourth quarter trailing 20-14 and quickly moved to the Chargers 44 after a 19-yard completion from Tua Tagovailoa to Jaylen Waddle followed by a 9-yard scramble by Tua. Also, you can follow me on Twitter at @PoupartNFL, and that's where you can ask questions for the regular All Dolphins mailbags. The one defender with a shot to stop Ekeler around the 5 — which likely would have brought on the field goal unit — was cornerback Xavien Howard, but he couldn't disengage from the block of wide receiver Mike Williams. The Dolphins were badly outplayed in the first half, but still had a chance to get into the locker room down only 10-7 had they come up with a second stop on fourth-and-goal.

4 quick-hit takeaways from Dolphins' loss vs. Chargers (Dolphins Wire)

The Miami Dolphins and Los Angeles Chargers met on Sunday evening at SoFi Stadium. There were a few things we learned from the matchup.

There were also two plays, one for each, that the targets weren’t aware of the location of the ball. The quarterback and head coach will need to work on a plan to adjust. When he wasn’t in, he was getting his ankle taped and iced. There were multiple balls that were in the hands of Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle that probably should’ve been brought in for receptions. Justin Herbert hit Austin Ekeler for a 16-yard gain, putting the ball at the one-yard line. Miami’s loss was their second in as many weeks and their fifth on the season which significantly impacted their postseason odds.

What must happen for Miami Dolphins to make the playoffs and what ... (Miami Herald)

Exploring the Miami Dolphins' playoff scenarios, both for a wild card and the AFC East title.

And the odds of Miami winning the division would be only 29 percent if the Dolphins win at Buffalo, even though Miami would then own the tiebreaker with the Bills. That scenario would leave the Dolphins and Ravens with the same record and Miami with the fifth seed because it owns the tiebreaker with Baltimore. So if the Dolphins and Jets are tied after next weekend, there’s a decent chance a playoff berth will be on the line when the teams meet at Hard Rock Stadium in Week 18. But if the Jets win the Jan. (The Chargers have a slightly better conference record than the Jets.) But the Chargers own the tiebreaker with Miami and have an easier remaining schedule. 1 and then close at home against the Jets, who have a defense far superior to the Chargers unit that held Tua Tagovailoa to 10-for-28 passing and limited the Dolphins’ offense to 219 yards.

Mike McDaniel on Dolphins' drubbing at Chargers: Certain guys ... (Palm Beach Post)

McDaniel identified issues on both sides of the ball, finding players going away from what they were taught trying to be a hero.

The box score doesn’t read, ‘asterisk, it was cold.’ " "You got to pay the piper at some point. "It’s kind of like playing in Miami," he said. "It wasn't one player," he said. Whether or not that benefits us moving forward is for the team to determine." "It’s hot. Not even when you face a third straight daunting road game and this one at your rival and AFC leading Bills, who will be looking to made a statement after losing a bizarre September game in Miami, 21-19. I think that’s something that you have to be upfront that, ‘hey, it’s going to be cold,’ but it’s also something that no one cares. "You talk about a frustrating film to watch," McDaniel said. "It wasn't one position. Miami is 8-5, two games behind the Bills. While Herbert passed for 367 yards, Tagovailoa was 10 of 28 for 145 yards.

3 things learned in the Miami Dolphins soul crushing loss to the ... (PhinPhanatic)

The Chargers, a defense that gives up 151 yards a game on the ground and who is ranked 27th in pass defense over their last three games, putting Mike McDaniel, ...

This is a pivotal point in the year where the Miami Dolphins, who once were thought of as an easy playoff team, are now going to have to fight and claw for it. I suppose the prudent answer is we need to wait and see more but if you have had eyeballs even before this game and especially last night, are you really unsure which one of the guys is the better player with more talent? But you easily can make the argument that Tua needs near pristine consistent conditions to do well. But it is how I feel when I think about the horror that was the Miami Dolphins trying to play offense against the Los Angeles Chargers last night. My spirit has been trampled on and the only phrase that I can tell myself is one that we have been saying to ourselves for decades. But, since I’m a tortured Miami Dolphins fan, I can tell you that you never truly shake the occasional negative thoughts that the team you love is actually a phony even when they look like they can do no wrong.