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| Ryan Tannehill had a solid statistical performance, but he definitely felt the loss of two starting offensive linemen as he was under pressure late in the game. |
The Dolphins have dealt with a lot of adversity the past 10
days or so. But all their apparent off-field issues may not have been issues at
all. In fact, since head coach Joe Philbin gave his players the go-ahead to
speak their mind to the press, the team as a group has said that it has felt no
ill effect.
Unfortunately, what their off-field issues have left them
with is two starting offensive linemen missing from the team, one by his own
choice and the other due to suspension.
This was most apparent on Miami’s last drive, when Ryan
Tannehill took two consecutive sacks, resulting in a 3rd & 28
and ultimately a turnover that lost the game.
The Dolphins fell below .500 and significantly hurt their
playoff hopes in the loss. Tampa Bay, after spending a day as the only winless
team in the NFL, joined the Jaguars in scoring their first victory here in Week
10.
The Buccaneers committed a lot of penalties. Lucky for them,
so did the Dolphins. They completely shut down Miami’s run offense, holding
them to just two yards, which I
believe ESPN play-by-play announcer Mike Tirico said was the worst single-game
rushing performance in Miami Dolphins history.
As much as I make this sound like the Dolphins lost this
game, I don’t want to discredit the Buccaneers. Mike Glennon had a solid
performance. It wasn’t great, but he did what he needed to while the team
relied heavily on the run. Mike James gained 41 yards on five carries before
being carted off the field with an injury. Then they got two additional backs
over 40 yards.
For the second straight week, Tampa Bay built up a
comfortable lead. Last week they led 21-0 in Seattle, then on Monday they led
15-0. In Seattle, they gave up that lead and, of course, ended up losing, which
is why they were still winless entering Monday.
The Dolphins also erased that lead and wound up with a
19-15, but they were unable to respond to a fourth quarter Tampa Bay touchdown
that finally put the Bucs in the win column.
The Dolphins have important meetings with the Chargers and
Jets in the next three weeks, both of whom they are competing with for the
sixth spot in the AFC playoffs. Their loss on Monday hurt, but it’s a tight
enough competition that it’s still anybody’s spot.
The Buccaneers have been reduced to the role of spoiler, but
they’ll have chances to do just that with Detroit, Carolina, San Francisco and
St. Louis still on their schedule.
Final Score:
Miami Dolphins – 19
Tampa Bay Buccaneers – 22
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