The Miami Dolphins almost proved that they are a force to be reckoned with as they led the Packers 24-17 early with 9:13 in the 4th quarter. After that 9:13 and 5 minutes later up by 4 points, the Miami offense called a set of disorganized, uncharacteristic play calls (for closing out a game). Convention says run the ball and force the other team to use time outs.
Aided by a illegal hands to the face by a Packer defensive end Brad Jones on Lamar Miller, the Dolphins with 3 minutes or so to play ran a pass, pass, and then a run to punt the ball and give the Packers good field position at the 40.
After scoring 21 points in the second half to take the lead, the Dolphins defense melted in the South Florida humidity requiring two timeouts to catch their breath and run out the proper personnel groupings.
However, after further review, the players made the plays necessary at the end with the defensive line placing relentless pressure on Aaron Rodgers, but yet the coaches put them into position to fail by calling both of those time outs. One timeout called by the sideline on a crucial 4th and 10, Dolphins got some Gatorade and surrendered a pass to the ever elusive Jordy Nelson.
Next, wide receiver Davante Adams almost, on a third down play scored a touchdown on a fake spike by Aaron Rodgers who called it “free-styling a little bit.” In fact, Rodgers ability to improvise made the difference in this win.
For the Dolphins, all that could be take away from this loss was that they are a great second half comeback team only to fall short. Despite falling short, quarterback Ryan Tannehill managed to turn in a dismal first half into an 83.3 performance with two touchdowns. Clearly rookie Jarvis Landry is waiting to break out and he caught a key red zone touchdown.
Falling short seems to be the trend in Miami.
With expectations mounting for head coach Joe Philbin to win, the Dolphins, who are one of the most talented teams on paper in the NFL are floundering behind the shaky leadership of their coach.
This week could be quite telling giving the Dolphins have the Bears in the Windy City next week.
The question is, when will this team play a complete football game and dominate in all phases?
We’ve yet to see it versus a contender.
Key Stats:
Quarterback: Ryan Tannehill: 20-31/2 TD/2 INT/83.3 Rating
Running back: Lamar Miller: 14 rushes for 53 yards, 1TD 3.8 per carry
Wide Receiver: Jarvis Landry: 6 receptions for 75 yards, 1TD
Defense: Cam Wake 3 tackles, 1.5 sacks/ Olivier Vernon 7 tackles and 1.5 sacks
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