Why Miami Dolphins struggled to find consistency in week 13 win vs the Bills

The Miami Dolphins grounded out another home win against a rebuilding Bills team. We recap and look at why the Dolphins continue to struggle in some areas while flounder in others.

If one was to take a glance at the box score of week 13’s win over Buffalo they may be confused. Buffalo out gained Miami 415 to 175 in total yards. That stat alone would assure a majority of NFL teams a victory. The next stat box down spots Josh Allen, Buffalo’s starting QB, 135 rushing yards. This is a mere 40 short of Miami’s total yards. Buffalo was 2 yards away from 200 total rushing yards on top of 231 passing yards. This is not the recipe for success in the National Football League.

However, Miami has a gentleman by the name of Howard, Xavien Howard. If Buffalo already didn’t know, X gon-give-it-to-yah if you throw the ball his way. He now leads the NFL in interceptions with the 2 he picked off today. He continues to be a playmaker and changed the game this Sunday. It would seem that the stats would have more impact on a game featuring two struggling teams. Yet one interception was promptly followed by Tannehill throwing one and the other interception was at the end of the second half on a desperation heave. The ball-hawking won’t go unnoticed, however, as X continues to make plays when the ball is thrown his way.

Tannehill had an up and down day. His stat line featured a 103.6 rating with 3 touchdown passes. On the flip side, he only threw for 137 yards and included an interception. With time in the pocket, Tannehill seems to find open receivers and playmakers. When the pocket collapses and he is forced to use his awareness, he flails and makes poor decisions. On a day that the Dolphins could find little room to work, Ryan did little to elevate the talent around him. This is not something he has been known to do.

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Two key factors continue dragging Miami’s offense into the abyss. 1. Adam Gase’s play calling strategy. 2. An interior offensive line that made Jordan Phillips look like a world beater.

Adam called a solid first quarter that found another opening drive touchdown. This is an EXTREMELY bright spot considering the trend of Miami’s scripted plays resulting in no results until last week. If the Dolphins continue to put points up on the board early, they may start keeping good teams close.

However, Gase continues to struggle badly on game-icing drives. Last week against the Colts the Dolphins kept the ball on the ground when in reality they needed first downs to keep the clock going. This week we saw much of the same. Miami went three and out on their last offensive drive that saw a tight end catch the ball and run out of bounds short of the first down. This was followed by a predictable wildcat formation run that netted negative yards.

Defenses will key up on an offense that is trying to burn clock and they do it by loading the box and preventing teams from running up the gut. Running between the guards is not something Miami does well due to the fact that their interior offensive line is playing on threads. No amount of lining up in exotic formation and packages will change that fact and Gase failed miserably when he tried to get the wildcat to give him a cheap first down. Gase needs to find better ways to continue drives or his offense will continue being one of the worst in the league.

Jesse Davis and Ted Larsen should not be playing professional football. That, by now, is a blatant fact. Unfortunately for Miami, it was their decision to resign both and keep them as backups. Many of Miami’s plays are blown up by defensive tackles penetrating the pocket or plugging up running holes. Mix this with the fact that Ryan Tannehill’s biggest weakness is his pocket awareness and you get what we see on TV every Sunday.

Having drawn out the obvious bright spots and glaring dark ones, the Dolphins came away with a victory and keep their playoff hopes alive. This was GREATLY helped by the Colts bleeding to death to the Jags by the score of 6-0. The Dolphins host the Patriots and bring a 5-1 home record to support them. Any hope of beating New England depends greatly on Gase drawing up unique plays and the defense taking away weapons.

We do know one thing. Tom Brady won’t be rushing for 135 yards.