The Miami Dolphins came into week five 0-4, looking for their first win, especially at home against the Cincinnati Bengals. But the offense looks uncomfortable with quarterback Malik Willis. Between receivers who cannot create separation, when Willis tries to extend the play, it often ends in disaster and bad decisions.
Coming into Sunday’s game this week it was Malik Willis’s 11th start in his career, and he is still developing at this high level in the NFL. His first half was ugly and disorganized. Willis was 15 of 27,137 yards, one touchdown, and three turnovers: a fumble and two interceptions. He was also sacked three times during the course of the game.
On the bright side, the Dolphins totaled a season high in points and yards gained towards the end of the game. The Miami Dolphins did put a nice drive together at the end of the game to end the game on a positive note with a touchdown. The Dolphins still came up short and lost 31-24.
Miami relied on more of the run game rather than the passing game this afternoon. Running back Ollie Gordon had a brilliant game, rushing for 88 yards and a touchdown. The passing game and Malik Willis can’t seem to be on the same page or stay consistent.
Quarterback Malik Willis delivered a highly disappointing performance marked by costly errors. Finishing the day with three turnovers and just a single touchdown, his production fell short of NFL starting standards. Willis completed only five passes of 10 or more yards, forcing the Miami Dolphins to rely almost entirely on their rushing attack to move the ball.
This is the third game Willis has not thrown for 200 yards, and no Miami Dolphins receiver has gotten over 100 yards in a game. Willis was able to rush for 74 yards and a touchdown but that’s not good enough for an offense and its quarterback to win games.
At some point, head coach Jeff Hafley will have to make a tough decision to see if Willis is the man for the starting job in Miami. He has been turning over the ball, not finding the open receivers and taking costly sacks. Unless Willis starts making better decisions or the game plan changes, the struggles in the passing game will likely continue. The backup for the Dolphins is Kyle McCord; the Dolphins will come into week six on a bye week but then will face the New York Jets in week seven.
The Miami Dolphins will need to take this bye week and regroup before heading into week seven against divisional rivals New York Jets. The Jets are currently 2-3 through five games which is nothing to write home about. They ended getting a victory in the last minute of the game to the Cleveland Browns in a low scoring game 17-12.
The Miami Dolphins fell 31–24 to the Cincinnati Bengals in a game where the final score masked a mostly sloppy and uneven offensive performance. Defensively, Miami failed to record a single sack against Joe Burrow, yet they successfully neutralized Cincinnati’s explosive downfield weapons for most of the day. Aside from a spectacular 45-yard touchdown reception by Ja’Marr Chase, the Dolphins’ secondary did an admirable job limiting big plays from Chase and fellow receiver Tee Higgins.
If the Dolphins can seem to manage to take this bye week and regroup coming into week seven, they can have a chance in beating the Jets but with the past performances in recent weeks if they continue, it will be long season for Miami. Even though at the beginning of the season head coach Hafley emphasized that this year for the Dolphins isn’t about wins and losses it’s about building culture and never quitting.
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