Miami Dolphins showed Monday night why they are not an elite contender just yet
I’m not the only one feeling like this right? What all Miami Dolphins fans saw last night was unfortunate. However, it showed one important thing, the Miami Dolphins are not a true number one seed.
Flip the switch, and look at the NFC conference and you will see dominant teams. The number one seed in the NFC is the San Francisco 49ers, and to be honest, not only do they look like the best team in their conference, they look like the best team in the league. The second and third seeds, Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles - the 49ers played them, and I mean that in a literal way - both those top seeds should have stayed home.
- Dallas 10 - 49ers 42
- Philadelphia 19 - 49ers 42
It’s just a different type of prestige. This is what you expect from a true number one seed. And this is what we are not seeing from the Miami Dolphins.
The game was there for the taking. Back to back turnovers! A 14-point lead with less than 3 minutes remaining, and the Miami Dolphins alongside their highly coveted and the richest defensive coordinator in the league allowed a rookie quarterback named Will Levis to drive the field twice and then hit a 2-point conversion for the icing on top.
This Tennessee Titans team didn’t play the game of their lives, it was sloppy football. There was no heart from the Dolphins that allowed a 4-8 team to come into their home stadium and steal the win from them.
This isn’t what you expect for a team that is holding down the number one seed in the AFC, especially when you compare it to what you see in the NFC.
Lastly, one thing is evident - Tua Tagovailoa is not an MVP quarterback. Tyreek Hill is the Miami Dolphins best player. When Hill wasn’t on the field, the Dolphins couldn’t move the chains at all. The Titans' game plan was simple - without Tyreek out, they doubled Jaylen Waddle and forced anyone else to beat them.
Tua led the team to a field goal drive that was ironically blocked. From there, a series of unfortunate events led to zero points and a tie game. The Titans' defense was terrible - from a statistics point of view, this was a team that led the league in yards allowed from their secondary. They deployed a two-deep shell and contained the high-scoring Miami Dolphins offense.
An MVP quarterback makes plays when the game is on the line. An MVP quarterback would look to expose weakness and go for the win, Tua did not show that to anyone last night, and the only thing that made sense is that without Tyreek Hill the Miami Dolphins offense is mediocre.
What comes next for the Miami Dolphins is scary, One could argue that they have the worst stretch of games lined up.
Miami will be at home against the New York Jets, who have one of the best defences in the league.
Followed by a home game against the second seed NFC Dallas Cowboys, then the travel to Baltimore to play the AFC one seed.
In the last game of the season, Miami plays one of their nemesis in Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills who are fresh off a win against the defending Super Bowl champs.
The breeze schedule is now over. The remaining schedule is a true test of what the Dolphins will see come playoff time. At best, they need to finish the next four games at 2-2. If they lose out, the Dolphins have a risk of missing the playoffs altogether.
For a team that started off as the number one seed, it's crazy to think what an ugly loss can do. The ramifications were true and evident yesterday night. Miami needs Tyreek Hill to get healthy cause we all saw they don’t have an MVP quarterback to bail him out.