Top Performers From The Dolphins Week 9 Loss To Buffalo
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The Dan Campbell honeymoon seems to be over in Miami as the Dolphins have now dropped two straight games, looking pretty bad in divisional losses to the New England Patriots and Buffalo Bills.
Poor execution by the players combined with bad coaching decisions on the sidelines, a situation that just can't happen on a team desperate for wins.
The loss dealt a major blow to Miami's slim playoff hopes. Now holding a 3-5 record at the halfway point of the season, the Dolphins have to win almost all of their remaining games to have a chance at reaching the postseason for the first time since 2008.
There were some bright spots for the Dolphins on Sunday, but overall the team's performance was frankly just not good enough.
That being said, here are Miami's top performers from their loss in Buffalo.
Lamar Miller
Dolphins offensive coordinator Bill Lazor fell back into his old routine of shying away from the running game as the afternoon progressed, but Miller still found ways to be productive.
While gaining just 44 yards on 12 carries, a 3.7 yards per run average, Miller did score a pair of short rushing touchdowns. The majority of his damage came on passing plays though.
He caught seven passes for 97 yards as Miami utilized their screen pass game early and often. Miller also had several nice blocks in pass protection.
Jarvis Landry
Week in and week out it always appears that Landry leads the team from an effort standpoint, never giving up on a play and always pushing for that extra yard.
He often is thrown the ball on wide receiver screens and has turned many of them into solid gains. Sunday was no different, though there were some plays where Buffalo was all over the call and had Landry surrounded before he could make a move.
He still managed a career high in receptions with 11, though he gained just 69 yards for a meager average of 6.3 yards per catch.
Reshad Jones
Jones has been perhaps the most consistent player on the Dolphins this season, which makes it no surprise that he continues to find his way onto these lists.
He has been leading the team in tackles all season (he now has 74, which is 23 more than the next guy), adding another seven to his total against Buffalo.
Jones also picked up his first sack of the season, adding a QB hit and a tackle for loss to his impressive stat line that should land him in the Pro Bowl for the first time.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Ryan Tannehill
Lost in the negative storylines from the game was a solid outing by Miami's quarterback. Tannehill completed 27-of-36 passes for 309 yards, with no touchdowns or interceptions.
He led the Dolphins on several promising scoring drives and threw his best deep pass of the season, and perhaps his career, down the right sideline to receiver Kenny Stills.
What kept him off the top performers list were the costly mistakes made during the game. On the Dolphins first offensive play Tannehill saw the shotgun snap slip through his hands and go out the back of the end zone for a safety.
Later in the game he was strip-sacked after failing to recognize where the pass rush was coming from, though right tackle Jason Fox was absolutely roasted on the play by the Bills' Jerry Hughes.
Ndamukong Suh
This was one of Suh's strongest games in a Dolphins uniform, though unfortunately it doesn't really show up on any stat sheets.
He was constantly in the Buffalo backfield and was held on several occasions, though the officials didn't appear to notice.
Suh finished the game with three tackles and picked up his third sack of the season, adding a QB hit and a tackle for loss.
If he can have the kind of impact he had on Sunday for the rest of the season it will go a long way towards the success of Miami's defense.
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