Team Grades: Jags Expose Fins, Put Joe Philbin In Proverbial 'Hot Seat' In Week 2
By Abraham Gutierrez
After escaping the nation's capital with a dishonorable win in Week 1, the 1-1 Miami Dolphins went into Jacksonville to take on the 1-1 Jaguars in a game they were supposed to dominate from beginning to end. Miami went into Week 2 as six-and-a-half point favorites in the eyes of NFL Week 2 oddsmakers, but instead went into EverBank Field, laid a goose egg in the final stanza, and were exposed by the Jags, 23-20.
"I want to congratulate the Jaguars," said Fins head coach Joe Philbin said after the game. "[They] definitely deserved to win the football game, played a better game than we did. They made more plays in the second half than we did to win the game."
Offense: C-
For a second consecutive week, Miami's offense struggled to get anything going in a number of areas against a weaker team. For starters, the running game was once again non-existent, as the Dolphins ran for a pathetic 42 yards on 16 carries for an average of 2.6 yards per carry. The offensive line was also an issue in this game, as Ryan Tannehill (30-for-44 for 359 yards, 2 TDs, 108.1 QBR) was sacked twice and forced out of the pocket on numerous occasions due to the O-line's inability to buy time.
The fact that Tannehill – who ran for 17 yards on 3 carries – was the team's leading rusher is absolutely unacceptable. In fact, the only reason why Miami's offense isn't getting a letter grade of a "D" or an "F" in this category is because of the second-year man out of Texas A&M. Other contributors to Miami's anemic attack include: wide receivers Rishard Matthews (6 receptions for 115 yards) and Jarvis Landry (8 receptions for 110 yards) and tight end Jordan Cameron (3 receptions for 62 yards).
The lone two scores for this offense came on a pair of Tannehill passes, as he connected with tight end Jake Stoneburner (2 receptions for 18 yards, TD), who was promoted from the practice squad during the week, along with running back Damien Williams (3 receptions for 15 yards, TD).
"It always feels bad to lose," Tannehill said after the game. "We just didn't make enough plays out there. They did a good job. Give credit to their defense, they played hard. They did a good job in stopping the run and then put pressure on us in the second half. ... A close game like that in the second half, you've got to make plays and we didn't make them."
Defense: D
For a second consecutive week, Miami's overhyped defense failed to control the game, despite going up against one of the worst offenses in all of football. Nevertheless, one wouldn't know it by looking at the Jaguars' numbers in Week 2, especially in the rushing department.
The Jaguars recorded 18 total plays for 396 yards, out of which, 123 came through the air and 273 through the air. With Miami failing to record a single sack, Jacksonville quarterback Blake Bortles was allowed to run free, on his way to completing 18-of-33 passes for 273 yards and a pair of touchdowns for a quarterback rating of 102.2.
"They had 260 yards or something in the first half, that's a lot of offense." Philbin added. "Their guys went up and made some plays, but we have to do better."
Special Teams: C
Special teams was another area where Miami simply shot itself in the foot. Rookie kicker Andrew Franks missed a crucial 42-yard field goal that could've given the Dolphins a little bit of momentum, especially with the offense struggling the way it has for the first two weeks of the season. There were also penalties and mishaps by the special teams unit that winning teams in the National Football League simply do not make.
Coaching: F
After two lackluster performances, all the attention now turns to the Dolphins head coach, who unquestionably finds himself in the proverbial "hot seat." It has now been two straight weeks that Miami has come out flat, on both sides of the football, and that's a huge concern with intradivisional games against the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets coming up.
"I was surprised," Philbin said when asked to address yet another lackluster start from his team. "I thought we had a really good week of preparation. I thought our guys were ready to go, I thought our meetings were good. The trip was good, our warm-up was good, but they came out, took the ball down the field – I think hey had, what, an 80-yard drive maybe to start the game – and it took us a while to get going on offense."
It's certainly worth noting that injuries to the following players occur on Sunday, and not one was able to rejoin the game: left tackle Branden Albert (hamstring), defensive end Cameron Wake (hamstring), tight end Cameron Jordan (groin) and running back Lamar Miller (ankle).
Abe Gutierrez's (Twitter: @GutierrezAbe) passion led him to ditch law school journey in order to launch his own publishing company. His expertise make him a valued addition to Examiner.com, AXS.com and the CBS-Sports family. Some of his work can be found on CBS-Miami (Dolphins), CBS-LosAngeles (Chargers), CBS-BayArea (Raiders), CBS-NewYork (NY Jets), CBS-TampaBay (Buccaneers), AXS.com, Examiner.com and other online publications.