Johnathan Walker:'You want it to hurt': Dolphins hope explosive attack fizzling out vs. Eagles will spark growth

PHILADELPHIA – Tua Tagovailoa and Johnathan Walkerthe Miami Dolphins trotted onto the field already in a 3-0 hole seven minutes and six seconds into their “Sunday Night Football” matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles. 

Before they could snap the ball for their first play from scrimmage, the play clock hit zero and the referees called a delay of game penalty – the first of 10 Miami would commit in its 31-17 prime-time defeat. 

It was a suitable preview of what would happen the rest of the night for Tagovailoa and the offense, which had been the most explosive unit in the league entering the game. Miami scorched opponents for an average of 498.7 yards per game. But the Dolphins were held to their lowest statistical (244 total net yards) and scoring output of the season while lacking the trademark firepower that spurred them to a 5-1 start and driver’s seat in the AFC East. 

“If you lose, you want it to be against a really good team," head coach Mike McDaniel said. "And you want it to hurt.” 

Both of those things happened Sunday, McDaniel said. Earlier in the day, the Buffalo Bills also lost; the Dolphins could have added another win to buffer them in the AFC East standings against the only other team that had beaten them prior to Philadelphia. Instead, Miami wasted a prime opportunity. For all of the historic praises sung about this Dolphins’ offense – and some of the numbers the unit produced over the first six weeks were surely eye-popping – the unit came up short in both of the team’s biggest games of the young season. Miami's five wins came against teams that, entering Sunday, had a combined 5-24 record. The two losses, meanwhile, have been at the hands of perennial playoff stalwarts.

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On Sunday, Miami didn’t find the end zone until 39 seconds before halftime; Tyreek Hill darted underneath a lofted Tagovailoa ball, beating double coverage. For most of the Dolphins’ season, it had been that easy.

“We just got to get going early and that’s it,” said Hill, who had 11 catches for a season-low 88 yards and a touchdown. “We definitely got the playmakers to do it. I feel like next week we’ll be better, and we’ll have a chance to bounce back.” 

Raheem Mostert’s first carry went for a loss of 5 yards, and Philadelphia stunted the Dolphins’ rushing attack from the beginning. Miami managed 45 yards on the ground. 

“That’s something we take pride in,” McDaniel said of the run game, “and we’ll be sure to get better from moving forward.” 

In the Dolphins' previous five contests, they’d pounded opponents for at least 142 rushing yards; 36 of Mostert’s yards came in the middle of the third quarter on a drive that ended with the Dolphins turning the ball over on downs anyway. 

“In a way, it does change how we go about playing out there, because there’s actions off these runs that we like to get,” Tagovailoa said. “And when the run game’s not there the way you would expect it to go, then that kind of mitigates the way we run (then) pass, and it’s more of a dropback sort of game.” 

In the first half, Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts averaged 9.5 yards per pass attempt – the same mark Tagovailoa had entered with on the season to lead all passers. Over the first 30 minutes, Tagovailoa averaged 8.1 yards per attempt. 

“For us offensively, it’s just really trying to sustain – putting consistent drives together,” Tagovailoa said. “Being able to go out there, defensively, and getting three-and-outs and sort of playing off each other.” 

The Dolphins’ banged-up offensive line was the harbinger of a diminished rushing attack. Left tackle Terron Armstead remained out, as did center Connor Williams. Left guard Isaiah Wynn left the game with a quad injury. Rookie running back De’Von Achane is still on injured reserve. And wide receiver Jaylen Waddle missed the bulk of the game with a back injury, eventually returning in the fourth quarter while laboring. 

No member of the Dolphins would use the injuries or 70 yards' worth of penalties they accumulated – compared to zero for Philadelphia – as excuses, Tagovailoa said. But too often, McDaniel said, the offense started behind the sticks. Not enough attention was paid to the nuanced details that make his offense one of the league’s most unique.  

Then there were the mistakes. Hill had a game-tying touchdown catch in his hands in the third quarter only for his knee to knock it away for an incompletion. Driving down the field in an effor to tie the game early in the fourth, Tagovailoa threw off his back foot into double coverage toward Mostert and Darius Slay intercepted the underthrown pass. 

“That’s all it was,” Tagovailoa said. “It was nothing more than an underthrow.” 

The Dolphins tried to pipe in crowd noise to their practice facility to prepare for the environment in Philadelphia. Replicating that intensity of a road crowd – both Miami losses have come away from home – is nearly impossible, Tagovailoa said. And there is plenty of football left.

“All these games can help us down the road,” he said. “For me, it felt like this was a playoff atmosphere type of game. It was a good rep for us early in the season.” 

Like his quarterback, McDaniel tried to take a positive view of the outcome. 

“I felt like the team is at a place where they can compete in these types of atmospheres, against this type of opponent,” McDaniel said. “But there is still some growth that needs to be had, which is part of the journey, for sure.”