Miami Dolphins: 10 observations from Sunday’s loss to Vikings

The Miami Dolphins suffered their third loss in a row on Sunday. Here are ten observations from their Week 6 game against the Vikings.

After starting the season with an impressive 3-0 record, the Miami Dolphins have lost three straight games and their path to the playoffs has been made much more difficult. They went in to Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings with third-string quarterback Skylar Thompson as the starter, but lost him to injury in the first half, making it the third straight game in which the starting quarterback for Miami did not finish the contests.

The Dolphins had their chances, both early and late in the game. But self-inflicted wounds ultimately cost them the game, and a chance to keep their record above .500. Their wounds went even deeper, as they lost multiple players to injury while already playing with a thin roster due to ailments to some of their key pieces. They’ll look to put things back together next week in prime time against the Steelers.

Here are 10 observations for the Miami Dolphins from their Week 6 loss:

1. Penalties are still an issue

The Dolphins had a chance to make an early statement and set the tone in the first quarter, but an impressive series was killed by a series of penalties. Miami drew five yellow flags on a single drive, negating two long passes that would have gotten them inside the 10-yard line, and ultimately pushed them all the way out of field goal range. It was easily the most penalties by any team on a single drive in the NFL this season.

The self-inflicted mistakes have been an issue for the Dolphins all year, and it seems that Mike McDaniel has yet to address the problems that plague his undisciplined team.