ORCHARD PARK, NY — You know the season is rough when you play your best game and still lose by 10 points such as the winless Dolphins did in their 31-21 loss at Buffalo on Thursday night.
There were some reasons for encouragement (the Dolphins showed some pride and some skill), but there were more reasons to roll your eyes and shake your head (a penalty and a turnover were their undoing).
Still, coach Mike McDaniel, whose team fell to 0-3, saved his job, seemingly for a few weeks.
Most likely fans won’t chip in to finance an airplane to fly a banner over Hard Rock Stadium before the Sept. 29 New York Jets game calling for McDaniel and general manager Chris Grier be fired.
Here’s the report card from the hard-fought loss:
Run game: C
De’Von Achane (12 carries, 62 yards, 5.2 yards per carry) was effective as was rookie Ollie Gordon II (nine carries, 38 yards, one touchdown). Wide receiver Malik Washington (two carries, 20 yards) also made a solid contribution. They didn’t do enough to win, but they kept the Dolphins in the game. Credit the offensive line, too, as the running backs had holes to run through.
Pass game: D
Tua Tagovailoa (22 of 34 for 146 yards, two touchdowns, one interception, 81.2 passer rating) had a brutal interception with 3:00 remaining and the Dolphins trailing, 28-21. Right guard Daniel Brunskill missed his block and Bills rookie defensive tackle Deone Walker was charging at Tagovailoa as he delivered the errant pass. Tyreek Hill (five receptions, 49 yards) and Jaylen Waddle (five receptions, 39 yards) were held in check by the Bills once again. Achane (seven receptions, 29 yards) led a mostly east-west passing game. Tagovailoa, it’s important to note, wasn’t sacked.
Run defense: D
The Dolphins allowed an opponent to rush for more than 100 yards for the third consecutive game as Buffalo ended with 157 yards on 27 carries (5.8 ypc). James Cook (19 carries, 108 yards, 5.7 ypc, one touchdown) led the way and he was all the Bills needed, although quarterback Josh Allen added 25 yards on four carries. The Dolphins’ front seven must be tougher and more fundamentally sound against the run. Yes, they have youth on the defensive line but there’s more experience than youth among the front seven.
Pass defense: D
Allen (22 of 28, 213 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions, 134.1 passer rating) carved up the Dolphins pass defense, which produced two sacks. Bradley Chubb had one sack and has a team-leading three sacks. But no one else is consistently making plays. Zach Sieler, who is coming off back-to-back 10-sack seasons and received a contract extension in the offseason, has no sacks. The secondary wasn’t bad, but again, no one made plays. This is a concern.
Special teams: D
Sieler’s running into the kicker penalty on punter Cameron Johnston was huge. It allowed Buffalo to continue what turned into a touchdown drive for a 28-21 lead with 7:17 remaining. It was game changing. Returner Dee Eskridge (three kickoff returns, 104 yards) and Malik Washington (two kickoff returns, 48 yards; two punt returns, 22 yards) did reasonably well, as did the kickoff and punt coverage teams. Punter Jake Bailey (four punts, 50 yards per punt) was solid.
Coaching: C-
McDaniel saved his job for a while — and maybe for the season. Perhaps he could have run the ball more often with Gordon and perhaps he should devise a passing game that doesn’t rely so heavily on short passes to Achane. Defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver and special teams coordinator Craig Aukerman have to get their units to perform better, along with McDaniel. In the end, McDaniel lost to Buffalo for the seventh consecutive game, but he also gave his players reason for encouragement and belief.
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Stock up: Mike McDaniel
Players have always liked McDaniel, but there was reason to doubt his teachings. Now there’s more reason to believe in his teachings. This was a huge performance. The bottom line, of course, is that this was a loss that was caused by self-inflicted errors in the form of Sieler’s penalty and Tagovailoa’s game-changing interception. But at least McDaniel, who fell to 4-10 in prime-time games, and the players don’t have to answer questions about McDaniel’s job security for at least another week.
Stock down: Tua Tagovailoa
Tagovailoa has five turnovers in three games and at least one interception in every game. He’s failed to deliver in late-game situations for two straight weeks, and he’s showing once again that he can’t beat playoff-caliber teams. He opened the season 2-10 in games against playoff teams since 2023, while throwing 15 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. This performance adds to those disastrous totals.
