Dolphins Vs Vikings: Week Six Recap
The Miami Dolphins dealt with a ton of adversity in yesterday’s 24-16 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. Can the Dolphins find what was working for them the first three weeks, after losing the last three outings?
Going into yesterday’s game with the Minnesota Vikings the optimism within the Miami Dolphins fan base was mixed, to say the least. Some fans were excited, yet still skeptical, that with a whole week of preparation that Skylar Thompson could lead the Dolphins to victory. And he came out firing the ball well in the first quarter but left the game with a hand injury just five minutes into the second quarter.
That thrust Teddy Bridgewater back into action after being taken out of last week’s contest with a concussion. Bridgewater never displayed concussion symptoms, but the NFLPA’s lovely, hard-working spotter demanded he is pulled and put into concussion protocol. Seems like overreach but the NFLPA, and especially a lone person not evaluating the player making impactful decisions, we’ll leave that alone. For now.
The first quarter ended the same way the game began, a scoreless matchup. The Fins were having success moving the ball but had a plethora of penalties to destroy drives that would have yielded points. The Dolphins have had back-to-back weeks where they lead the NFL with first-quarter penalties, with five last week, and five on one single drive this week.
Dolphins’ Defense Plays Well, Offense Stalls For Most Of Game
Coming into Week Six the Miami Dolphins’ defense was ranked 28th in the league for passing yards allowed, which is painful to even type considering this unit was anticipated to take a leap forward this year but injuries have plagued the secondary. One would think Justin Jefferson and Adam Theilen would have a heyday against Miami’s injury-riddled secondary, but for most of the game, the Dolphins’ defense did something they haven’t been able to do all year long: Get off the field on third down.
The defense stopped the Vikings from converting on third down ten of the twelve times they lined up to convert. It also seemed like they did a better job of not allowing chunk plays on first and second down which made third down less manageable for the Vikings’ offense. Other than the big run in the second half for Dalvin Cook, the Dolphins’ defense held their own against one of the NFC’s better offenses, even playing with fourth-string corners.
Cornerback Nik Needham was carted off in the second half yesterday after suffering a torn Achilles after making a tackle on Justin Jefferson. Needham has been a strong presence in the secondary with the injuries to Byron Jones and Trill Williams. Don’t be surprised if the Dolphins give up some draft capital to bolster their thin secondary.
I, myself, was worried about what kind of job Skylar Thompson would do in his first career NFL start. He had his moments where he looked good, but he still seems a lot slower going through his reads than he did in the preseason. And I know, that’s because regular season action is a whole different ballgame when it comes to game speed. He would finish the day only playing one full quarter, having 89 yards passing. I will say I was much more comfortable and optimistic with Skylar under center than Teddy Bridgewater. Not that I believe Skylar is far superior, but preparation in the NFL is key and Teddy for hardly any since he was in concussion protocol.
Dolphins Outlook Moving Forward
The last three weeks have been tough for the Dolphins in the area of trying to stay healthy. If they can get their key players on the right side of the injury report, it’s still early enough in the season to come out with at least eleven wins. It helps that the Dolphins have the easiest schedule from here on out.
With Tua’s return to action slated for next Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the only hope from the fin base is the offense returns to its week one through three productions, instead of ranking near last in the league as they have for so many years before.
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