The Miami Dolphins entered the 2025 season opener with a lot of questions, but they certainly didn’t many answers in Week 1 against the Indianapolis Colts.
On the contrary, all we got were more questions during what just might have been the most depressing season-opening loss in franchise history.
Yes, this might have been worse than the 59-10 spanking the Dolphins endured at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens in 2019 because that was a rebuilding (or tanking) season and the Ravens figured to be a very good team. The Colts, meanwhile, hadn’t won a season opener since 2013 and were coming into the game with Daniel Jones, not like Lamar Jackson like the Ravens of 2019.
But on this day, Jones easily was the best quarterback on the field and the same could be said for just about every matchup at every position.
It was that bad of a performance for a Miami team hoping to return to the playoffs after a one-year absence.
Embarrassing might be the only term that should apply here.
And if the performance of the team hadn’t been enough to depress the team’s fans, starting right guard James Daniels and starting cornerback Storm Duck both left the game with injuries in the first half and were ruled out coming out of halftime.
The last thing the Dolphins needed was to lose an offensive lineman given the suspect quality of the backup help.
The biggest question for the Dolphins, really, was whether it was the offense or the defense that was the most disappointing unit on this day.
The answer, of course, was yes.
Maybe we’ll give a slight edge to the offense because that’s been the most productive unit in recent years and it didn’t lose as many key pieces from last year.
But between sacks and turnovers and Tua missing some throws he normally would make, the offense came within 6:21 of being shut out, the touchdown finally coming when De’Von Achane decided he wasn’t going to get tackled at the 2-yard line.
But then, symptomatic of the day, the Dolphins had to burn a timeout on the two-point conversion attempt because the play clock was about to run out.
The final stats will show the running game was efficient with 75 yards and almost a 7-yard average, plus a third-and-1 conversion on a 3-yard run by rookie Ollie Gordon II.
But for the most part the offense looked a lot like the 2024 version, with most throws being short, an approach that leaves little margin for error.
And those errors came in the form of three sacks and three turnovers by Tua.
And, no, it wasn’t bad offensive line play that led to the interceptions but rather Tua overthrowing Tyreek Hill over the middle on the first one and then not seeing pass rusher Laiatu Latu drop in coverage. And then Tua held the ball way too loosely on the sack by Kenny Moore that resulted in the fumble.
Those are the kind of mistakes Daniel Jones is supposed to make, not Tagovailoa.
But the reality is the Dolphins defense never did very much to put pressure on Jones.
The Dolphins defense was supposed to feed off a ferocious pass rush, but other than Bradley Chubb getting to Jones on the last play of the first quarter, there was very little pressure on Jones.
Because of that, Jones ended up with a passer rating well into the 100s, highlighted by his easy touchdown pass to Michael Pittman when Duck let him go in coverage thinking he had deep help that wasn’t anywhere near the receiver.
It wasn’t just the pass rush that failed because the vaunted defensive line and the prized rookies were hardly noticeable.
Yes, Kenneth Grant and Jordan Phillips showed great promise in camp and the preseason, but there was very little impact in Week 1.
Then again, nobody up front really stood out, and that includes Zach Sieler. The Colts went for it on fourth down three times and converted all three.
Outside of the easy touchdown pass to Pittman, the secondary wasn’t disastrous for the Dolphins, but it also wasn’t good, and that basically was the expectation.
And we might also suggest the offensive line didn’t underperform, either, even after Daniels left.
Can’t say the same for the rest of the team, particularly those who need to lead the way, like Tua, Tyreek, Waddle, Sieler, the pass rushers and Minkah.
The only front-line player who had some semblance of success was Achane, but it was far too little to match what the Colts were doing.
The only silver lining at this time is that it was only one game and the only way things can go from here is up.
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