Miami Dolphins Open Season With Blowout Loss vs. Indianapolis Colts

The Miami Dolphins began their season with a 33-8 loss on the road against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. 

The Dolphins were completely outmatched by the Colts in every single facet. It’s honestly difficult to find any positives from the Dolphins’ performance. This was, by pretty much all accounts, the worst performance of the Mike McDaniel era. 

Here’s everything you need to know. 

The Colts opened the game and went right down the field for a field goal, using a lot of misdirection and play action in the passing game to generate open receivers. Tight end Tyler Warren had three catches for 45 yards on the opening drive. 

Down 3-0, Miami’s offense got off to a rough start almost immediately. Starting guard James Daniels left the game with a pec injury on the third play (he was ruled out at halftime), and then Tua Tagovailoa sailed a pass to Tyreek Hill for an INT on the fifth play. 

The Colts then drove down the field to make the score 10-0 on a 14-play, 84-yard drive that took just more than eight minutes off the clock. The Colts found the running game on that drive, leaning on RB Jonathan Taylor. 

The Dolphins’ offense then had a replay of their first drive, as RB De’Von Achane was late to identify a slot blitz from Kenny Moore II, who hit Tagovailoa, forcing a fumble. The Colts drove five plays and 42 yards, punching in a touchdown on a Daniel Jones QB sneak to make the game 17-0. 

The Dolphins punted on their next drive, but finally stopped the Colts on their ensuing possession. However, Matthew Judon was called for running into the punter, extending the Colts’ drive. They proceeded to run out the half and kick a field goal as time expired to make the score 20-0. 

The Dolphins then began the second half with yet another turnover from Tagovailoa. He threw a pass directly to a dropping defensive end (Laiatu Latu) after holding onto the ball and leaving the pocket. It’s truly hard to figure out how Tua didn’t see Latu, given how long he held onto the ball.  

Indianapolis drove down the field again and added another field goal to make the score 23-0. Jones had Warren in the corner of the end zone but threw it a bit high, and Minkah Fitzpatrick might’ve gotten away with a pass interference penalty. 

Miami’s offense finally put a couple of first downs together on its next drive, getting down to the Colts’ 41-yard line. However, the drive sputtered there after three straight incompletions led to a turnover on downs. 

After a long drive, the Colts eventually punched in another touchdown to make it 30-0. We’ll spare you the details of the full drive, but it included a holding call on Jack Jones that changed a first and 30 for the Colts into a first and 10. 

The Dolphins finally scored on the next drive, as Tagovailoa found Achane on an RB screen for the team’s first touchdown of the season. They also converted the two-point conversion to make it 30-8. However, it was way too little, way too late. 

The Colts would add a garbage-time field goal to make the final score 33-8.

There are really no positive takeaways from this game for the Dolphins’ offense. The team was shut out through three quarters, recording just 106 yards. For the game, the offense managed 211 yards compared to the Colts’ 418 yards.

Tagovailoa played what is arguably the worst game of his career. Setting the numbers aside, he was inaccurate and made several brutal decisions. Both of the interceptions were his fault, and his poor ball security also resulted in a fumble. His final passer rating of 51.7 was the lowest of his career, except for the 2021 game against Buffalo, when he was done after four attempts.

He finished the game completing 14-of-23 passes for 114 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. He was replaced by backup Zach Wilson during the team’s final drive. 

Tyreek Hill led the team in receiving, recording 40 yards on four catches. Jaylen Waddle had three catches for 40 yards — it wasn’t a good day for anyone. 

There’s not much to say about the running game. The Colts dominated the time of possession and jumped out to a big lead early. Achane finished with 55 yards on seven carries, and rookie Ollie Gordon had just four yards on two carries. 

Upfront, the Dolphins’ offensive line wasn’t generating a ton of movement and looked pretty confused dealing with some of the Colts’ more creative blitzes. A few pressures were on pass catchers (Tanner Conner, Achane), though. 

The Dolphins’ defense made Daniel Jones look like prime Peyton Manning at times. Jones was decisive, accurate, and rarely threw into tight windows down the field. Jones finished completing 22-of-29 passes for 272 yards, one touchdown, and zero turnovers. 

Starting cornerback Storm Duck left the game in the second quarter and didn’t return, but he was struggling mightily before going down. He was likely (All-22 review pending) responsible for the wide-open Michael Pittman Jr. touchdown. 

Warren was also a problem for cornerbacks, safeties, and linebackers alike. He finished with 76 yards on seven catches. 

The secondary was expected to struggle a bit, though. What was more concerning was the defensive line. They recorded just one sack and very few pressures throughout the game. Miami’s supposed vaunted pass-rush was nowhere to be found for most of this game. 

They also got bullied in the trenches against the run. Colts RB Jonathan Taylor finished with 71 yards on 18 carries, and the Colts’ offensive line got push at will throughout the game. They finished with 156 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. 

Indianapolis converted several third and fourth-and-short situations by just running right through the teeth of Miami’s defense. The Colts ended up scoring on every single drive during the game, as Miami’s only stop was nullified by Judon’s penalty on the punt.

The Dolphins will attempt to bounce back in Week 2 in their home opener against the New England Patriots. 

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