MIAMI DOLPHINS TAKING SMALL STEPS

Miami controlled possession for more than 34 minutes and finished within five yards of Kansas City’s net offence, yet the scoreboard told a different story. The Chiefs took four plays to get on the score board, but Miami responded with a solid 17-play opening touchdown drive which showed discipline and patience, but a second-quarter fumble, an interception and three failed fourth-down attempts repeatedly erased promising work. The performance was better than the previous week and showed progress. The hope is that the team will continue on an upward trajectory; however, that will be more difficult after De’Von Achane suffered a season-ending ACL injury.

Five takeaways from the Game

1. Miami must turn possession into touchdowns

The Dolphins demonstrated that they could sustain drives, most notably on their 17-play, 91-yard opening touchdown march. After that, however, lengthy possessions produced only three points. Against Patrick Mahomes and Kansas City, time of possession matters only when it ends in the end zone. Miami must become more efficient in the red zone and avoid negative plays that force difficult third- and fourth-down decisions.

2. The running game struggled when Achane left

Disaster struck five plays into the first drive when Achane went down and left the game with a torn ACL. It is a huge blow for a team needing his running and receiving ability and will make it harder for the offense to operate a credible running attack. On this day it was particularly tricky as Ollie Gordon was the only other running back suited up and although he scored the team’s only touchdown his stat line of forty-one yards on seventeen carries wasn’t that impressive when you consider eleven yards came on one carry. He was serviceable, but the hope is Jaylen Wright will be healthy next week. It will be surprising if Jon-Eric Sullivan isn’t looking at the available free agents on the market. They have two young running backs on the practice squad, but will need more experience at the position moving forward.

3. The defense showed improvement in areas

Anytime you hold the Chiefs to 24 points is a positive considering they came into the game with a red-hot offense. Granted, there were some lapses and communication breakdowns, but they remained competitive for longer against an offense that entered the game in excellent form. There is still a lot of room for improvement but Jacob Rodriguez and Michael Taaffe were making their presence felt. Taaffe seemed to be in and around the ball most of the time, improving his play strength when taking on blocks may not go amiss. As for Rodriguez, he continues to make plays. This week he had three tackles for loss, a pass defended, and for good measure an interception which showcased his speed and athleticism. Now if Chris Johnson could step up it would be great, he will continue to get picked on until he starts forcing incompletions.

4. Pass rush remains a big problem

The Miami pass rush needs some help, but we aren’t sure where that is going to come from. Through three games they still haven’t sacked a QB and are the only team without one. This is having an impact on the secondary as they are allowing the fourth highest passer rating, not a great place to be with such an inexperienced bunch of cornerbacks and safeties. Patrick Mahomes had all day to find an open receiver and finished with twenty completions from twenty-four attempts. Jordyn Brooks managed to take down Mahomes on a third down play but it was negated by an illegal contact penalty. And then there was the questionable penalty on Robinson, a fraction earlier he would have bagged a safety, but Mahomes managed to get the ball out just before Chop took him to the ground.

5. Malik Willis is a work in progress

Willis has shown improvement in his decision making, getting the ball out quicker on certain plays, but there is still a way to go. He also isn’t afraid to heave the ball downfield, a couple of times he was very close to hitting his man, but on other occasions we were left scratching our heads, and asking, why throw into double coverage, he could have easily finished with two, if not three more picks. Perhaps Bobby Slowik wanted Willis to stretch the field and discourage Kansas City from crowding the box, but the risk attached to those throws was too high

Bottom Line

Miami was competitive between the 20-yard lines, but Kansas City was decisively better in the moments that determine games: protecting the ball, converting opportunities and closing in the fourth quarter. The Dolphins’ quickest route to improvement is not a wholesale reinvention; it is cleaner situational football, stronger depth and a far higher return from sustained drives.