The Miami Dolphins entered Week 5 with a little bit of hope that their rushing attack and their quarterback could generate enough offense against a Bengals team that has been losing lately. Instead, they lost their fifth game in a row to start their season.
There wasn't much good on Sunday aside from another positive day running the ball, but when they needed to make plays that could have given them a chance, they failed.
There isn't much that will surprise anyone. Miami took a big step backward after turning in two promising games in weeks 3 and 4.
Miami Dolphins don't have to look far to see why they lost in Week 5
Malik Willis isn't developing
The Dolphins needed their QB to be crisp on Sunday, but instead, he continued to provide more reasons to believe he isn't ready to be a full-time NFL starter. Willis threw two interceptions in the first half, one leading to a Bengals touchdown.
Willis continues to have decision-making problems. He holds the ball too long and misses open receivers. The biggest issue, however, is that when he does recognize an open receiver, he doesn't make the decision quickly to let it go. This allows defenders time to recover. It's been an ongoing problem all year.
The QB isn't making good decisions. On the second drive of the second half, he nearly threw 3 interceptions, all in the end zone. And again, he missed an open receiver that he should have seen easily. This is the kind of play that gets players benched.
Willis finished the game with a quarterback rating of less than 51 after finishing with two interceptions, a lost fumble, and a touchdown.
The special teams unit is atrocious
Week 5 opened with an 81-yard opening kickoff return for the Bengals as the Dolphins' special teams unit lollygagged around the field, lost and confused. Missed tackles, missed lanes, missed everything. Chris Tabor was supposed to improve the Dolphins' ST unit; instead, it looks as though he is deliberately throwing games as a Bills coach in disguise.
Despite Malik Washington looking good at times when returning the ball, he can't make up for the play of the other parts of the special teams unit. If there was an exclamation point to the ST unit's play on Sunday, it was Riley Patterson's missed extra point to bring the game to within six with under a minute left in the game.
Ollie Gordon II is special
Gordon is making Dolphins fans forget De'Von Achane (not really, but still!). His hard, bruising attacks on defenders have been impressive since he took over the starting role four games into Week 3. Gordon needs to get more involved as a pass catcher to really take his game to the next level, but on the ground, he is giving the Dolphins a player for the future.
We are a long way from Achane's return in 2027, but the thought of an Achane/Gordon dual-threat running back unit is scary. Gordon has shown his running ability since being drafted, but with the consistent opportunities now, he is proving that those flashes are real. On Sunday, Gordon was the only consistent bright spot on either side of the ball.
Jacob Rodriguez has to be better in pass coverage
There have been a lot of positives for the rookie this year. He once again added more tackles to his statistics, but in the first half, he gave up two touchdowns. The coverage was good, but it has to be better.
Rodriguez needs to recognize the routes before they become a problem. It's a minor adjustment that will help him as his career continues, but those little things are hurting him now.
Dolphins' offensive line needs to be better
If we are being honest, the offensive line hasn't been horrible this year compared to years past. The run blocking has been good, considering they are blocking differently than they did with Achane, but it's become clear they need to give Willis a lot more time.
I'm not sure if we can fully blame the line, however. Willis has been so bad this year that when the line does give him time, he moves out of the pocket and can't push the ball downfield. Willis consistently holds the ball too long, leading to unnecessary sacks that aren't on the offensive line's shoulders.
Pass rush is still not good enough
The Dolphins have been better at getting to the quarterback the last two games, but they are still a long way from being consistent, and it's costing them games. On Sunday, Burrow had plenty of time in the pocket, and while there was pressure to force him into poor throws, when it mattered the most, Miami couldn't get to him.
This has been a problem all year, and it is becoming clear that it will need to be addressed next offseason. Without consistent pressure, the Dolphins' secondary is struggling to keep up with bigger, faster, and quicker receivers who can open gaps in the protection.
At some point, Hafley has to design a better scheme to move players around to create pocket collapse and QB miscues. Until that happens, the Dolphins are not going to win football games. Through five weeks, they haven't led a single second of a game.
The lack of discipline is still a problem
Whether on defense or offense, Miami continues to commit pre-snap penalties that kill drives and extend opposing drives. This has been a problem all year, but Hafley still doesn't have an answer for it.
Is this a coaching problem? To some degree, yes, but once the players are on the field, they have to execute. On Sunday, Miami had six penalties for more than 60 yards. These things have to change if the Dolphins are going to be competitive enough to win a game.
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