On Sunday, the Miami Dolphins had their 7-game winning streak snapped and their playoff chances eliminated against the Tennessee Titans. This game was a big test for the Dolphins because it was a big game on the road against a quality opponent. The Dolphins didn’t just lose the game. They weren’t even competitive in a 34-3 beat down by the Titans. The Dolphins controlled their own destiny to make the playoffs if they won their last two games. It was going to be hard against the Titans because they were the number 2 seed in the AFC. The Titans are a good team but had struggled of late especially without their best player in running back Derrick Henry. However, the Titans rose to the occasion on Sunday and showed why they are one of the top teams in the AFC, while the Dolphins showed they have a lot of work to do to become a contender, let alone a playoff team.

Some people will say the Dolphins won 7 games in a row by beating up on the weaker competition. That maybe be true, but to win seven games in a row in the NFL is an accomplishment. This season, only two other teams had won more than six games in a row, the Kansas City Chiefs and New England Patriots. It’s tough enough to win one game in the NFL, let alone 7 in a row. The winning streak, after a 1-7 start, had fans excited, especially since the team controlled its own destiny, but after a dud of a performance on Sunday, it brought the team back to reality.

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It starts with the offense, and whether it’s fair or not, that falls on quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. He played his worst game of the season when the team needed him most. His play has been encouraging the last month of the season as he had been one of the most efficient quarterbacks in the league with his completion percentage and leading the offense. However, on Sunday, he took a few giant steps back. He was 18 for 38 with no touchdowns, one interception, and was sacked four times. I know people will defend him, I have myself at times that Tagovailoa doesn’t have a lot of talent around him and his offensive line is one of the worst in the league, and it’s true. However, a quarterback has to be able to rise above all of that and lead his team. Tagovailoa didn’t do that on Sunday. I know the weather was terrible, but in December and January, it’s going to be cold in most places, and the weather gets worse. We can’t play all of our games in 80 degrees in the heat and humidity. Tagovailoa, at times Sunday, looked like he hadn’t played a game in the NFL and wasn’t getting rid of the ball quickly, as he did during the 7-game winning streak, and took four sacks. He also fumbled at times and was short on some of his throws. There were three plays in particular that were very concerning to me. On the second drive, Tagovailoa on 3rd down rolled out to his left and missed a wide-open Mack Hollins 10-15 yards downfield. I know arm strength isn’t his biggest strength, but you have to hit that throw, and he was short by a few yards. Then on the next possession, Tagovailoa dropped back to pass, and the ball slipped out of his hand, and the Titans recovered in the red zone, and the game you could tell was over after that even though it was the first quarter. Finally, in the 3rd quarter, with the Dolphins trailing 17-3 in Titans territory, Tagovailoa on 3rd down from the 28-yard had two receivers open on quick slants-crossing routes, and he held on to the ball and took the sack, which made kicker Jason Sanders field goal 53 yards instead of 45 yards and ended up doinking off the crossbar. If he throws the ball, worse case, it’s incomplete, and it’s a shorter field goal, but those guys were open, and it could have gotten a first down in the red zone to perhaps get the Dolphins back in the game. Those were troubling plays for me. It reminded me of the game he had in Buffalo last year with the playoffs on the line. It begs the question if he can win these big games when the team needs him to play his best against playoff competition.

This performance will add more fuel to the fire if the Dolphins should continue to build around Tagovailoa or go in another direction? The Dolphins’ receivers had their fair share of drops on Sunday and all season long. They also don’t have a competent offensive line to run block or pass protect. The Dolphins also don’t have a running game, and it’s pretty telling that the two running backs they picked up mid-season in Duke Johnson and Phillip Lindsey are getting more playing time than their other running backs. They started the season with Myles Gaskin and Salvon Ahmed. The Dolphins will have to ponder this after next Sunday. Deshaun Watson will be available, as other quarterbacks, like Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson, are proven winners and difference makers. Are the Dolphins going to need a difference-maker at quarterback or continue to be patient with Tagovailoa that is the question? I think the Dolphins need to think long and hard about this.

The defense doesn’t get a pass from Sunday’s game. They gave up almost 200 yards rushing against the Titans, who have been without their best players in Henry. The defense was the backbone of the 7-game winning streak, but on Sunday, they got dominated by the Titans. They got blocked upfront, opening holes for the running backs, and they didn’t apply any pressure on Ryan Tannehill or come up with big stops. It reminded me of the games earlier this year against the Buffalo Bills and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Dolphins defense has to show up better against more quality opponents, and they are better than what they showed Sunday. They are still missing something on defense, and I think it’s an inside linebacker that can run sideline to sideline, making tackles, diagnosing plays, and that can cover. The Dolphins have a good foundation on defense but need to keep adding another linebacker or two.

The Dolphins also didn’t get some breaks from the officiating. Let me say the officiating didn’t cost the Dolphins the game, but a call here and there might have helped make things better. In the 1st quarter, the Titans had a 4th and less than a yard in the red zone and ran a quarterback for a first down and ended up scoring a touchdown. However, on the play, there was some movement on the offensive line, and if it was called, the Titans settle for a field goal. Then in the 3rd quarter, with the score 17-3 Titans, the Titans fumbled the ball inside their 40-yard line. There was a huge pile, and Emmanuel Ogbah came out with the ball and the officials didn’t signal who had the ball, but despite a clear recovery for some reason, the Titans were awarded the ball when the officials never indicated who recovered the ball or that the runner was down. That was very frustrating as a fan, and as an official, you have to rule who has the ball, and the officials never did, and the Dolphins recovered. Finally, in the 4th quarter, Tagovailoa threw an incomplete pass to DeVante Parker at the 11yd line, and his arm was clearly grabbed, and there was no call. It was clear pass interference that wasn’t called, and then Parker lost his cool and got a 15yd unsportsmanlike conduct penalty called on him. If called,  the Dolphins would have had a first down in the red zone. The Dolphins didn’t get a break, and it was just part of an afternoon where nothing went right.

The Dolphins season is going to end not making the playoffs, and if the Dolphins didn’t have that seven-game skid, things could have been different. Now comes the end of the regular season, and the Dolphins are going to have to make some tough drastic decisions, especially on offense. If the Dolphins want to be a playoff team, they can’t have no shows with the playoffs on the line like they have had each of the last two years to end the season.