The Miami Dolphins and Los Angeles Chargers met on Sunday night at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California with Brandon Staley’s team taking the victory.
Miami’s loss was their second in as many weeks and their fifth on the season which significantly impacted their postseason odds. Next week, they have a tough battle on Saturday night with the AFC East leaders – the Buffalo Bills – that could really end the quest for a division title for Mike McDaniel’s team.
Here are a few things that we learned from the Dolphins’ prime-time defeat.
Tua Tagovailoa has struggled with his accuracy.
Over the last two weeks, Tagovailoa has posted his lowest completion percentages of the season – 54.6% against the San Francisco 49ers and 35.7% against the Chargers.
Teams are starting to clog the middle of the field with either linebackers or defensive backs, which is where Tagovailoa does most of his work. The quarterback and head coach will need to work on a plan to adjust.
Wide receivers drops and miscues
While Tagovailoa didn’t have his best day, his wideouts didn’t help him out too much.
There were multiple balls that were in the hands of Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle that probably should’ve been brought in for receptions. There were also two plays, one for each, that the targets weren’t aware of the location of the ball. During Hill’s example, it could’ve been a long touchdown that may have helped them win this game.
Josh Boyer's play-calling at the end of the first half was questionable
The Chargers brought their final possession of the first half into the red zone, and on back-to-back plays, they lost eight total yards. This led to a third-and-goal attempt from Miami’s 17-yard line.
Boyer forced most of his defense back near the goal line, essentially allowing Los Angeles to take up as much field as they wanted on third down without scoring. And, that’s exactly what they did. Justin Herbert hit Austin Ekeler for a 16-yard gain, putting the ball at the one-yard line.
Staley, known for his risk-taking nature, went for it on fourth down, and they were successful.
Instead, Boyer could’ve called a normal defensive front and made it more difficult, perhaps forcing a field goal attempt.
Injuries continue to pile up
The aforementioned Hill suffered an ankle injury just before the half which caused him to be in and out for the remainder of the game. When he wasn’t in, he was getting his ankle taped and iced.
On top of that, running back Jeff Wilson Jr. suffered a hip injury in the second quarter, and he didn’t return to action.
With the game against Buffalo coming on a short week, it will make it harder to get these offensive contributors back to full health before the contest.
