Dolphins observations: Another slow first half proves problematic
After another weak offensive display in the first half, the Miami Dolphins lost 34-15 to the Kansas City Chiefs at Sun Life Stadium to drop their record to 1-2.
The Chiefs played desperately and grabbed their first win of the season after holding off a renewed Dolphins attack in the second half that once again failed to consistently score, as they've showed all season long. Just like the first two games of the season, Miami's offense started flat and this time around couldn't string together a series of solid plays to help get them back in the game.
It's hard to place the blame on any specific factor that could completely explain this latest defeat. They wasted a solid effort from running back Lamar Miller, who filled in capably for the injured Knowshon Moreno and collected 108 yards on 14 rushing attempts. Rookie Jarvis Landry had his moments as well, some of them spectacular and others that confounded. The defense was by and large solid early on but allowed too many back-breaking plays for the rest of the game.
"I thought Kansas City clearly deserved to win the game," said head coach Joe Philbin. "I told the team it was a team loss in every respect; no one phase played well enough to win, and they certainly deserved to win the game."
Above all else though, quarterback Ryan Tannehill failed once again to lead the team through a rough stretch of play and help get them out of the hole they dug themselves into in the first half.
Here are five takeaways from another Dolphins loss:
1. Another poor first-half performance for the Dolphins offense.
For the third straight game to open the season, the Dolphins headed into halftime down by a two-score deficit. With just 13 total points scored in the first half so far this season, Bill Lazor's much-celebrated offensive system hasn't amounted to much from the outset.
Earlier this week, both Tannehill and Lazor were willing to accept the responsibility for the offense's struggles so far but even with further adjustments and tweaks to the game plan, the result continues to be the same. Once again, the team was faced with another situation where they had to face an uphill climb in the second half. With little room for error, the Chiefs were able to answer the Dolphins' scoring in the second half and comfortably put away the home team.
2. Jelani Jenkins impresses in starting role.
Jenkins got the nod at outside linebacker and he responded with a monster first half in which he made life miserable for Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith, one of the most tackled quarterbacks in the NFL so far this season. The former Gator showed off his quickness and athleticism on the way to leading the team with 14 tackles and 1.5 sacks on a day where there was little else to feel good about.
"I mean, I just thank God," he said after the game. "I thank God for the opportunity, but it's all about the team. We lost so I got to figure out what I got to do better to help us win next time."
Jenkins shared a sack with Randy Starks to take down Smith in the end zone and earn a safety in the third quarter, giving the home team new life, momentum and a chance to get back in the game. The former 2013 fourth-round draft pick had a solid game to build on at a position of great need for Miami.
3. There were growing pains for Jarvis Landry.
The day started well for Landry, who opened the game with an electrifying 40-yard kickoff return to jumpstart the crowd at Sun Life Stadium. Unfortunately, all that goodwill dissipated quickly after he chose to return a subsequent punt at the two-yard line which went nowhere. Add that to his failed catch last week in which the ball bounced off his face mask and it started to look like he may not have many more chances with special teams.
Soon after, Landry would drop a pass from Tannehill in which he could have secured the ball with two hands. He would finish the first half with 20 receiving yards on two catches.
The up-and-down nature of his play continued in the third quarter. He exploded for a 74-yard kickoff return but couldn't quite escape the Chiefs defenders to return it to the end zone, though it still set up the Dolphins first touchdown of the day. On the next return, he should have signaled for a fair catch but instead got tackled instantly for a loss of one yard.
4. The coaching decisions were perplexing.
Head coach Joe Philbin will again face questions about his clock management for a second straight week. After a questionable ultra-conservative strategy in Week 2 to close the first half against the Buffalo Bills in which Philbin decided to run the ball on consecutive plays to run out the clock, he chose to use a timeout during the final run against the Chiefs in the first half.
With the Dolphins closing in on the end zone and time running out, Philbin only had one timeout left and could not give his team enough time for the chance to score a touchdown. Running back Daniel Thomas also wasted time on the clock going for extra yards instead of running out of bounds, which cost the team at least 20 seconds, if not more. With such limited offensive productivity, the team had to settle for a field goal.
Afterwards, Philbin explained what had happened.
"I ran down there and I thought we had five seconds to go," he said. "I thought we could get one play off and then kick a field goal. I talked to Jeff [Triplette, referee] about it, but he said there was two seconds. So, with the ball on the four and two seconds to go, in my opinion you've got to kick a field goal."
5. Tannehill was again inconsistent.
With a chance to reverse the team's fortunes at home against a winless Chiefs team, Tannehill arguably needed a great game to get back on track as much as the whole team needed it.
It simply didn't happen again, with the third-year quarterback finishing 21-of 43 for 205 yards and one touchdown. His issues with accuracy and ball placement were once again problematic, though receivers dropping passes didn't help matters either.
"When you're not getting things done, obviously it's frustrating and it needs to be corrected," Tannehill said. "It's still early in the season so I have confidence that we can get this thing turned around. But it has to happen now and I said that last weekend and we didn't get it done."
Has time run out for Tannehill already or will Philbin continue to stick with him deep into this season? While Tannehill shouldn't have to shoulder all the blame for this latest loss, he will still have to face mounting questions as to whether or not he is a starting-caliber NFL quarterback.
You can follow Surya Fernandez on Twitter @SuryaHeatNBA or email him at SuryaFoxSports@gmail.com.
