The Miami Dolphins’ 24-16 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday was a game they flat-out gave away. The Dolphins dominated every statistic in the game but the scoreboard. This game was like the game the Dolphins stole from the Buffalo Bills a few weeks ago, in which they dominated but made mistakes and lost the game. This is the Dolphin’s third straight loss and the most frustrating because they had chances in the first quarter to put points on the board and blew it.  


Skyler Thompson, starting his first NFL game, played well until he got knocked out of the game in the 2nd quarter. They moved the team down the field. On the first offensive possession, he moved the team inside the Vikings 35-yard line, but on 3rd down were sacks and Thompson had no chance on the play. The sack took the Dolphins out of long-field goal range. 


The most frustrating possession was the next possession. The Dolphins started at their own 11-yard line, and Thompson orchestrated a drive that took the Dolphins to the Vikings’ 24. Then the Dolphins had a false start that backed them up 5 yards. On the next play, Thompson hit Trent Sherfield for a pass that got them inside the 10-yard line, but the play got called back for an ineligible man downfield. Thompson came back and hit River Cracraft on a pass that took them down to the 2-yard line, but once again, a penalty brought the play back and pushed them further back. The Dolphins then had an offensive pass interference penalty that took away a decent gain and then had another penalty that took the Dolphins out of field goal range. Two drives went into Vikings territory for at least a field goal attempt, and nothing to show for it because of a sack and five penalties on a drive. Five penalties?? I don’t think I’ve ever seen that on one drive, but it happened yesterday. 

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The Vikings got a drive going and scored a touchdown to go up 7-0. Then the Dolphins came back and got a field goal. However, later in the 2nd quarter, Jason Sanders missed a 52-yard field goal that could have given the Dolphins some points. Then the Dolphins forced the Vikings to punt, got the ball back under 30 seconds left in half, and pinned at their own 11-yard line. I personally would have taken a knee and gone into the half, but Mike McDaniel likes to be aggressive and got a completion near the 30. Then on the next play, a ball hit Jaylen Waddle in the hands, and it went through, and the Vikings got an interception. The ball was a little behind Waddle, but he had to catch the ball, so the Vikings got the ball in the Dolphins’ territory and ended up getting a field goal before the half to go up 10-3. 


The Dolphins got the ball to start the second half and went three and out, but for some reason, they decided to go for a fake punt on 4th and one at their own 34 and missed it. The Vikings got another short field, but this time the defense bailed the Dolphins’ offense out, pushing them out of field goal range. For the rest of the 3rd quarter, both teams exchanged punts. Then in the 4th quarter, the Vikings got a touchdown but missed the extra point to go up 16-3. The Dolphins responded with a touchdown drive to cut the lead to 16-10. 


The DDolphins’defense then forced the Vikings to punt and gave the ball back to the offense. Teddy Bridgewater led the team across midfield, and on a 3rd and 15 at the 43 of, the Vikings threw a strike to Waddle, who had the first down but fumbled the ball at the Vikings’ 27, and they returned it to the 42. A few plays later, Delvin Cook, who was held in check all game, broke free for a 53-yard touchdown run, which essentially ended the game. Instead of potentially going up 17-16, the Vikings forced a turnover and made it 24-10. The Dolphins’ miscue by Waddle was the final nail in the coffin, and the Dolphins went on to lose 24-16. 


This loss can only to attributed to costly mistakes by the offense. They moved the ball well, but when they were in a position to put points on the board had costly penalties and turnovers at bad times. You can’t blame the game on the quarterback situation, either. Thompson played very well before getting knocked out and Bridgewater, after a rusty start, put the team in a position to potentially take the lead. The Dolphins’ offense has no one to blame but themselves. Yes, the injuries are piling up, but it’s no excuse for the penalties and turnovers.  


The Dolphins’ defense played very well in this game despite being put in tough situations. They pressured Kirk Cousins and sacked him three times. For the most part, they contained Cook before that big run. The only thing the defense could have done was force a turnover or two, but they played very well today can’t complain. Even though they dominated every area, they didn’t finish off drives and lost on the scoreboard, which is where it all matters the most at the end. The Dolphins lost this game because of their self-inflicted mistakes on offense, and they can’t win games with those types of mistakes. 

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