Miami Dolphins: 10 observations from Week 8 win over Lions

Miami Dolphins: 10 observations from Week 8 win over Lions

5. McDaniel took a touchdown away from Sherfield and Tagovailoa

A week after what was the most poorly coached game of his young career, Mike McDaniel made a questionable decision early in the third quarter against the Lions that had us scratching our heads.

With the Dolphins down 10 and driving, Tagovailoa hit Trent Sherfield on a quick slant that appeared to end in a touchdown after the receiver reached for the goal line. It seems to be an obvious score, but the referees marked the ball down at the one-foot line, and Miami punched it in with an Alec Ingold sneak. The outcome of the game wasn’t changed, but given all of the mistakes and oddities that happened in this Halloween Weekend game, it would have been smart to at least review what seemed to be an obvious touchdown. Tua would have had four touchdowns instead of three, and Sherfield would have gotten the third score of his career.

6. Josh Boyer may be on the hot seat

They shored things up a bit in the second half, but the entire defensive unit was looking problematic during the first half. Granted, the team is dealing with major injury blows to their secondary, and Jared Goff decided to pick on the replacements on Sunday, but that is no excuse for just how easy the Lions were moving the ball.

Defensive coordinator Josh Boyer has been up and down as far as his reputation with the franchise and the fan base, but he could be on the hot seat if his unit is unable to regain the identity that made them one of the better defenses in the NFL over the last few years.