Xavien Howard ejected as frustrated Miami Dolphins struggle

The Miami Dolphins are not playing well and Xavien Howard was ejected.

It is halftime at Hard Rock Stadium and the Miami Dolphins are losing to the visiting Cincinnati Bengals in another ugly Miami performance.

With the game now at the half, the Miami Dolphins find shemselves losing 7-6 but while the score may seem close, the reality is the Dolphins are not facing a stellar defense, they are beating themslves and the frustration finally erupted at the end of the half.

With the Bengals driving and facing a 3rd and long, Xavien Howard and Bengals receiver Tyler Boyd got into wussy fight and as a result, both players were ejected. The loss of Boyd is big for the Bengals, but the loss of Howard is worse for the Dolphins. Howard already had one interception earlier in the game, now he will watch it from the locker room. Boyd earlier had a 70 plus yard touchdown reception.

Tua Tagovailoa is playing but he hasn’t been sharp. The Dolphins have been plagued by offensive penalties including an illegal formation on a touchdown run by punter Matt Haack. Tagovailoa has been inconsistent but the play calling by Chan Gailey, who called three consecutive runs from the 4-yard line, is not doing Tua any favors.

Tua is 12 of 19 for 111 yards. He has missed a couple of open receivers but wasn’t helped by a long pass to Jakeem Grant that he dropped. While his stats may not look horrible, the passes are short dump passes and he is missing the mid-range completions.

For all the hype over Tua Tagovailoa we have to wonder if he is ready for this level yet or if Chan Gailey simply isn’t letting him play his style of football. In the 2nd half, if the play continues, don’t be surprised to see Ryan Fitzpatrick take over with the playoffs chase now in full swing.