So, that didn’t go well. 

The Miami Dolphins got blasted 24-3 by the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday. The score probably should’ve been worse than that if not for an admirable performance by the team’s defense. 

Unfortunately, the other two phases of the game were a disaster. The offense mustered just 205 yards and three points, while the special teams unit missed a field goal and couldn’t stop committing penalties. 

To make matters worse, players like Kendall Fuller, David Long, Terron Armstead, and Skylar Thompson all left the game with injuries. It was a Murphy’s Law game for the Dolphins — nothing went their way. 

Let’s review the All-22 to see where some things went wrong. 

Third & Fourth Down Disaster

One of the biggest reasons the Dolphins couldn’t score on Sunday is that they couldn’t sustain drives. Miami was 1-of-15 on third and fourth down against the Seahawks. Poor coaching from Mike McDaniel, Frank Smith, and Jon Embree on offense. A total failure. 

Yes, the Dolphins had Skylar Thompson and Tim Boyle at quarterback but 1-of-15 on “money downs” just isn’t acceptable for a serious team. Miami’s first conversion came with 13:37 left in the fourth quarter, trailing 17-3. 

Miami’s struggles were a combination of poor play calling and poor execution, but let’s start with the poor execution. Two red zone third downs really highlight the Dolphins’ lack of execution because they took points off the board. 

The first one is after the Dolphins’ first interception, which set them up with first and goal at the six. This is a good play call, resulting in a 1-on-1 matchup for Jaylen Waddle at the bottom of the screen. 

The stack and switch release creates some hesitation for the Seahawks’ corner, allowing Waddle to win outside leverage and get open heading to the corner. Thompson looks that way but comes off it way too quickly, choosing to run out of the pocket for no reason instead. 

This is NFL open, especially in the red zone. It’s a throw an NFL quarterback must always be prepared to make. It’s not the easiest throw in the world, but most red zone throws are tight windows — it’s the nature of the beast. 

This next play is similar, but the receiver does not execute it this time. Boyle is in the game now and gets a similar look to the one Thompson had. Smythe wins inside leverage, running a flag route to the back pylon. 

Yes, that leverage win makes the read more straightforward, but it’s roughly the same concept. Boyle throws with trust and anticipation, giving Smythe a chance to make the play. It’s a tough catch, but an NFL tight end should make this play, especially with Smythe’s experience. 

Moving on from execution, we will talk about play calling. I’ve defended Mike McDaniel a good bit, but the Dolphins’ game plan from Sunday made no sense. The play above is a third and 2 on Miami’s opening possession of the second half. 

The Dolphins run a fairly common under-center play-action concept: the running back runs to the flat, one tight end runs a flag, the other motions across and also runs to the flat, and a receiver runs a back-side crosser. 

It’s a level concept that is supposed to put a zone defense in conflict. There are two problems. First, the Seahawks are in man coverage with a post-snap rotation to single high. Second, Seattle shows a heavy blitz. 

Having the quarterback turn his back to the defense (especially your backup, who is not a quick decision-maker) in this scenario isn’t smart. Even worse is not making this a bootleg, putting Thompson on the run, and simplifying his read. 

If Thompson is outside the pocket to his right on this play, he’s got two open options with Achane and Tanner Conner in the flat. Thompson is more mobile than Tua Tagovailoa. This should be one of the few advantages of having him in the game. Instead, Miami doesn’t take advantage. 

Can you argue that Thompson’s eyes are in the wrong place on this play? Yes. However, the head coach should know better, given Thompson has spent three years in the system. 

I want to highlight Miami’s only conversion of the day, too. Last season, Miami struggled in third and short. This season, they started implementing a fullback dive to pick up some easy conversions. It worked against Jacksonville, as we covered that week. 

However, its effectiveness has waned considerably. It didn’t work once against Seattle, as Miami just refused to hand the ball to De’Von Achane — as they did in the play above — who is having an excellent season. 

That seeps into a bigger play-calling issue — past the nitty-gritty of calling too many fullback dives. McDaniel called too many pass plays on Sunday. 32 passing attempts compared to 18 runs on the road with your backup quarterback, in Seattle, of all places, is unserious behavior. 

The Dolphins have to evolve on offense. It’s hard with a backup quarterback, but they can’t run the Tua offense without Tua. They need to do something completely different next week. 

The Untimed Down

All of Miami’s offensive problems can be summed up in this one play. At the end of the first half, the Dolphins were gifted an untimed down after a questionable — at best — illegal contact call. 

It was a dreadful first half, but hey, it was something. The penalty yardage made it a 51-yard Hail Mary, which isn’t that far in the grand scheme of things. So what did Miami do? 

They called a play-action fake and had two downfield routes, neither of which reached the end zone. Firstly, who are you trying to fake out with play-action? Secondly, this is a route concept for when there are eight seconds left, and you’re trying to get into field goal range. 

Some have pointed out the Dolphins were trying to get a penalty called like they did in Week 1 against the Chargers last season. Let’s ignore that being a bad strategy for a second. 

If that’s the case, Thompson should’ve just let the ball rip. Why is he scrambling around, waiting for receivers to get into the end zone? It doesn’t make any sense. 

Others have said, “Maybe Thompson can’t throw a 51-yard Hail Mary.” I find that incredibly hard to believe, but if it’s true, the decision to roster him, start him, and keep him in on this play is way less defensible. 

Even the beginning of this play is a disaster. Thompson asks for the snap seven times before finally getting it. It’s loud in Seattle, and maybe the cadence wasn’t “on one,” but even in that scenario, seven is wild. 

Mind you, this is a play they had an opportunity to think and talk about because of how the penalty was called on the previous play. 

Even the effort from the receivers is rough. Waddle gets pushed out of bounds way too easily and doesn’t make much of an effort to re-establish himself when he sees Thompson break the pocket. 

From the play call to the execution, this play looks like a Looney Tunes production. 

At Least Zach Sieler Showed Up 

In the interest of maintaining some of my sanity, I want to talk about one of the team’s positive performances from Sunday. Zach Sieler finished Sunday’s game with five QB pressures, one sack, and an interception. 

He also finished with a 17.2 pressure percentage, the third-highest of his career, trailing only his 2023 performances vs. the Commanders and Giants. 

Sieler’s sack was incredibly impressive. He lines up as a true edge defender and just rips Charles Cross right off him to get a free path to Geno Smith. Cross is a really solid left tackle, and Sieler ate him up on this rep. 

The Dolphins’ ability to get consistent pressure off the edge has been inconsistent through three games, so if Sieler can be a viable option occasionally, it would be a big help. When Bradley Chubb returns, it might be a non-issue, but it’s something to monitor until then. 

Sieler’s impact went beyond rushing the pass, though. He’s at least half responsible for both of Smith’s interceptions. On the first one, Sieler used an inside swim move to create pressure, forcing Smith to throw inaccurately. 

On the second, he made a pretty athletic play for a big fella and came down with the tipped pass. Sieler is still one of the NFL’s most underrated players, and on a day when nothing went right for Miami, Sieler (and the defense, generally) was a bright spot.

 

Miami Has a Chris Grier Problem