GOOD NEWS:Miami dolphins have buy a new player….

GOOD NEWS:Miami dolphins have buy a new player….

MIAMI — After snapping a three-game losing streak with a 15-10 victory over the New England Patriots on Sunday, Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel made an interesting observation — the Dolphins, known for their league-leading offense in 2023, had become a defensive team.

Such is the state of Miami’s offense five weeks into the season. After leading the NFL in yards last season, Miami is ranked 21st through five games this season and is averaging a league-worst 12.3 points per game. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was placed on injured reserve on September 17, after suffering the third diagnosed concussion of his career and he’s not eligible to return until Week 8.

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McDaniel said there haven’t been any “red flags” with Tagovailoa in the two weeks since, but added that he won’t fully progress through the protocol until after his IR stint is over.

Miami turned to Skylar Thompson following Tagovailoa’s injury and then to Tyler Huntley, who the team signed off the Baltimore Ravens practice squad, when Thompson was knocked out of his first start against the Seattle Seahawks.

Neither has been able to jumpstart an offense that was supposed to be among the league’s best this season.

Here’s how the Dolphins’ 180 from a dominant 2023 season came to be:

Knowing Tagovailoa’s injury history, why wasn’t Miami better equipped at backup quarterback?
Thompson beat out Mike White for the No. 2 job this summer, and both players had been with the team for multiple seasons. With Thompson, Miami believed it had a quarterback who possessed command of McDaniel’s offense and whose teammates positively responded to him whenever he was in the huddle.

Ultimately, McDaniel said he made the decision on Thompson when he entered the team’s final preseason game this year.

“I saw teammates believe in him, and I saw teammates get off the bench during the drive and start getting close to the white,” McDaniel said. “Those are all the things that for me, is what I’m evaluating because just going back to what is the actual job of your backup, and I thought it was a cool moment

The Dolphins’ offense was struggling long before Tagovailoa’s injury.

In 11 games since hanging 45 points on the Washington Commanders in Week 13 of last season, the Dolphins’ offense has scored 30 points once. They scored fewer than 20 points seven times in that span.

Miami were without receivers Jaylen Waddle or Tyreek Hill in four of their final five games last season due to various injuries, highlighting a need for a third receiving option. The Dolphins signed Odell Beckham Jr. and Jonnu Smith to fill that void, but their integration had not materialized before Tagovailoa’s injury.

Beckham started the season on the physically unable to perform list after offseason knee surgery while Smith and Tagovailoa had played just a game and half together, with minimal preseason snaps.

Thus, one of the Dolphins’ largest issues on offense was exacerbated by breaking in multiple quarterbacks in a three-week span.

Before their win over the Patriots, the Dolphins also weren’t getting much out of their run game. Since Week 3, Miami’s minus-.30 average rushing yards over expectation ranks 24th in the NFL; it also ranks 17th in average yards before contact (2.35) but last in average yards after contact (.65).

Statistically speaking, Miami’s offensive line has been average in terms of creating lanes, but its running backs haven’t been able to shed tackles