Everything went wrong for the Dolphins vs. Titans in Week 4

For the third straight week, the Miami Dolphins trotted out a different starting quarterback.

The opposition was the winless Tennessee Titans, who had stunned Mike McDaniel's team last season on a Monday night at Hard Rock Stadium.

Tyler Huntley would get the nod for the 'Fins in primetime, who were looking to win for the first time since the opening Sunday. However, it would prove to be an ugly came of deja vu for McDaniel's reeling team.

What went wrong: Takeaways and giveaways

Things actually began pretty promising for the Dolphins, as they not only looked to get back in the win column, but avenge last season's 28-27 Monday night setback in Week 14. Problem-plagued Titans quarterback Will Levis had entered the game having committed at least two turnovers in each of the team's first three contests. In fact, the second-year signal-caller had already given up the ball eight times in three outings.

That figure included five interceptions, two returned for touchdowns, and three lost fumbles. Levis proceeded to thrown a pick to Emmanuel Ogbah on Tennessee's first possession. Miami took over at its own 43-yard-line, and on three plays moved to the Titans' 32. A Huntley incompletion was ruled a backward pass, Tennessee recovered the "fumble," and a scoring chance was squandered.

What went wrong: Still lacking the big play

Obviously, the Dolphins' offense is much different without the threat of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. The lack of explosiveness when it comes to this attack is sadly evident. In last week's 24-3 loss at Seattle, the offensive unit produced only two plays (sans penalties) of 20-plus yards. In the first quarter, quarterback Skylar Thompson and running back De'Von Achane combined for a 22-yard completion. In the fourth quarter, backup Tim Boyle and wide receiver Dee Eskridge teamed for a 30-yard gain.

On Monday night vs. the Titans, running back Jaylen Wright and Huntley both ripped off 20-yard runs. Those were Miami's longest offensive plays of the evening. All told, Miami's offense has produced a dismal 389 total combined yards on 110 plays in their last two outings and is averaging a disturbing 3.5 yards per offensive play.

What went wrong: Conversion issues

McDaniel's offense just hasn't been able to move the ball with any consistency throughout the first four weeks of the season, and it has become notably worse with Tagovailoa. There has been the rare big play, hence Tyreek Hill's 80-yard touchdown grab in the comeback victory over Jacksonville. The bottom line is that the Dolphins have been limited to 20 or fewer points in each game this season, regardless of who's playing quarterback.

The offensive attack has slowed to a crawl the past two weeks, and another big factor has been the lack of success on both third- and fourth-down. Ironically, Tagovailoa was injured in the third quarter on a successful fourth-down conversion. In the losses to the Seahawks and Titans, Miami is a combined 3-of-24 on third down (12.5 percent) and 1-of-6 on fourth down (16.7 percent).

What went wrong: Lack of urgency and execution

There was a sense of this when the team faced the Bills on a Thursday night in Week 2 and found itself behind, 24-7, in the second quarter. Be it conservative play-calling or a questionable use of timeouts, the Dolphins had the ball in the final minutes before intermission and slowly, but not so surely settled for a field goal. It would be their last score of the game in that 31-10 loss.

On Monday night vs. the Titans, Miami fell behind 3-0 in the second quarter and never caught up. McDaniel's team trailed 19-6 entering the final 15 minutes of play, but he put no trust in his passing game as the team ran the ball (nine plays) more than they threw (seven plays). There were also six penalties in the fourth quarter, including three illegal shifts, as well as Huntley's intentional grounding while in the end zone that resulted in a safety.

What went wrong: Squandering an opportunity

The Dolphins entered Monday night's game with a chance to move up in the AFC East. That's because on Sunday, all three of their divisional rivals lost—two of them by substantial margins. The New York Jets were surprised at home by the Denver Broncos, 10-9, and the New England Patriots were rolled on the road at San Francisco, 30-13.

Later that night at Baltimore, the previously-undefeated Buffalo Bills were embarrassed by the Ravens, 35-10. A Miami victory over the Titans would have given McDaniel's struggling club a 2-2 record, and place them just one game behind the Bills in the standings. Instead, the Dolphins and Patriots are both riding three-game losing streaks as they meet this week in Foxborough. A win over previously-winless Tennessee would have also given the team a 2-1 mark within the conference.