Dolphins' biggest offseason move – and their biggest offseason failure – combine to sink their season in loss to Texans
The Miami Dolphins season is pretty much over after a 20-12 loss to the Texans on Sunday at NRG Stadium in Houston. And while there were a number of culprits to blame, two of them stood out in particular: their underwhelming offensive line and their quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa. The Dolphins' franchise quarterback completed 29 of […]
The Miami Dolphins season is pretty much over after a 20-12 loss to the Texans on Sunday at NRG Stadium in Houston. And while there were a number of culprits to blame, two of them stood out in particular: their underwhelming offensive line and their quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa.
The Dolphins' franchise quarterback completed 29 of 40 attempts for just 196 yards with a touchdown and 3 costly interceptions. He was also sacked three times with a lost fumble.
Speaking of sacks, Miami's offensive line had a nightmarish performance. That was not totally unexpected in one respect, as Miami's top three offensive tackles – Austin Jackson, Terron Armstead, and Kendall Lamm – were out due to injury. Rookie Patrick Paul and Jackson Carman drew the start.
The problem on Sunday extended to the interior of the offensive line, where the Dolphins relied upon players they preached during the offseason were fine options. Liam Eichenberg and Aaron Brewer were both flagged for holding calls, as was Carman. The Texans' defensive line was disruptive, including on the interior by DL Tim Settle, Jr.
As a result, Miami couldn't get a running game going – 19 carries for 52 yards (2.7 ypc) – and struggled to protect Tua for much of the game.
This was a unit – with Liam Eichenberg and Robert Jones – that Chris Grier said was good enough to win back before the season started. That belief was chuckled at by many on social media thereafter, and it looks like the chucklers will have the last laugh. Why the Dolphins' general manager thought the underwhelming status quo would have been good enough is one of the biggest head scratchers of the season.
Even with their struggles, Tua – who the team tied themselves to for four years and $212.4 million this offseason – had one of his most forgettable games of his career with four turnovers by himself.
The read on his first interception was a really bad one, with the Texans safety dropping and cherry picking an easy throw that should never have been made. The second was nowhere near where it needed to be, with Derek Stingley standing well between Tyreek Hill and the ball. The third was simply a great play by Stingley to rip the ball away from Hill on the Dolphins' final offensive play of the game.
Those are throws that Grier paid Tua to make. To help give the Dolphins a lift when they need it, find a way to win. That's what elite franchise quarterbacks are supposed to do, even when things aren't lined up perfectly for you. It's the NFL. Rarely are things going to be perfect. And unfortunately, Tua has shown again that when things aren't going great, it's tough for him to turn them around.
This is going to be a monumental offseason for Grier. This team simply has to be rebuilt on various parts of both sides of the line of scrimmage, but especially on the offensive side.
Of course, we'll see if he'll be allowed to handle it. After all, he said this group was good enough. As such, how good is his word?
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