5 things that went horribly wrong for Dolphins in embarrassing loss to Seahawks

The Miami Dolphins could have suffered from jet lag in their game against the Seattle Seahawks, and that would have been a nice excuse. Nothing went right for Miami, but some things stood out worse than others.

Whether it was the play on the field, the injuries, the lack of quality play-calling, or Skylar Thompson's inability to play like an NFL quarterback, everything that could go wrong did go wrong.

Sunday's game started with the Dolphins holding Seattle to a 57-yard field goal, and it was straight down the middle. The Dolphins would miss their field goal attempt on the next drive of the game, and that was as close as the game would be.

Let's break down what went wrong.

5 reasons the Dolphins lost to Seahawks in brutal Week 3 performance

Dolphins are not good enough to overcome injuries

The NFL mantra is that injuries will happen. The Dolphins' awful luck continued in the worst way possible on Sunday. They suffered these injuries against the Seahawks:

• Kendall Fuller: Ruled out with an early concussion
• Terron Armstead: Left the game with an eye injury
• David Long Jr.: Missed part of the game
• Storm Duck: Injured after replacing Fuller
• Skylar Thompson: Left the game early in quarter three and did not return

Thompson struggled when he was in the game, and Tim Boyle looked a little better as a replacement, but not by much.

Losing Fuller was a problem, but the Dolphins' defense still managed to do well enough for most of the game. The Dolphins simply were not put in a position to stay off the field.

Skylar Thompson is not a quarterback the Dolphins should be relying upon

Thompson had a lot of confidence heading into his fourth career start and had the support of his receivers and head coach. However, Mike McDaniel probably should have reconsidered his idea to not make the playbook smaller because Thompson had an awful game.

At halftime, fans questioned why the Dolphins kept Thompson over Mike White. Thompson looked utterly lost on the field. It was like he was playing on a three-second delay.

Thompson was slow to make his progressions and slower to make decisions with the football. He held the ball too long, resulting in several sacks. He wasn't planting his feet to make his throws and showed no awareness of the Seattle pass rush or an ability to read the defensive coverage.

Dolphins still have no idea how to use a tight end

When the Dolphins signed Jonnu Smith as a free agent, it seemed that McDaniel had finally seen the light and would find a way to get him involved. After three games, fans are still wondering why Smith isn't a bigger part of the offense.

In Week 2, Smith had a good game, but his reward was taking a backseat to Tanner Conner and Durham Smythe against the Seahawks. With the game still in reach, McDaniel didn't call Smith's number, but instead, he threw to Smythe in the end zone and targeted Conner earlier on a critical down. The Dolphins played and targeted all four of their tight ends on Sunday, including second-year pro Julian Hill. None of them stood out.

• Jonnu Smith: Two receptions on three targets
• Durham Smythe: One reception on two targets
• Julian Hill: Two receptions on two targets
• Tanner Conner: One reception on two targets

Dolphins have a massive wide receiver problem

Fantasy football owners have to be shaking their heads over the production of Tyreek Hill this year, but not as much as Hill is probably shaking his head. Regardless of who the quarterback is, Hill's production this year has not been good. Defenses are taking him out of games and McDaniel can't figure out how to get him more involved.

Hill caught three passes for 70 yards, but he was a non-factor on Sunday. The Dolphins were able to get the ball to Jaylen Waddle four times for only 26 yards. He, too, was a non-factor. The problem for the Dolphins is they didn't have anyone else that got involved when it mattered.

Dee Eskridge caught one pass, but the Dolphins targeted Braxton Berrios one time and Erik Ezukanma twice. Neither caught a pass. Without quality WRs, something Chris Grier doesn't apparently think is important, the Dolphins relied too much on the myriad of tight ends we already mentioned.

Offensive line is exactly what Dolphins fans and media thought it would be

Both Grier and McDaniel have repeatedly said the media are more concerned about the offensive line than the team actually is. McDaniel went a step further and said there are more NFL quality starters on the Dolphins offensive line than they had room for on the 53-man roster.

The Dolphins' offensive line is not only playing poorly, but they are also undisciplined. The linemen are far more consistent with pre-draft penalties than they are at pass-blocking. It is a serious problem. Miami can't give the quarterback enough time to make their reads, and it showed today without Tua Tagovailoa behind center.