The Dolphins fell to 1-4 in a 27-24 loss to the Carolina Panthers Sunday in Charlotte. The Dolphins rode an explosive offensive attack and a takeaway-centric defense to a 17-0 lead in the first half. Carolina stormed back with 239 yards on the ground and 27 of the final 34 points to capture their second win of the season.
- Waddle and Waller
Following the season-ending injury to wide receiver Tyreek Hill, every pundit had the same question about the Dolphins. Who would shoulder the load left by the NFL's most-targeted player of the last four seasons?
The answer was everyone; at least early on. The Dolphins first drive featured seven passes to six different targets. Tight end Darren Waller was on the receiving end of the longest of those plays, a 34-yard strike on third-and-6.
Waller caught five passes for 78 yards and his third touchdown in two games as a Dolphin, all in the first half.
Wide receiver Jaylen Waddle started strong and closed in the same fashion. He caught six passes in the game including a pair of third down conversions on scoring drives and his longest touchdown reception since the Week 15 game vs. the Jets in 2023. His 46-yard fourth quarter score gave Miami a four-point lead with less than five minutes to play.
Waddle finished with 110 receiving yards. It was his first game going over the century mark since Week 12 last season vs. the New England Patriots. It was his 13th career game of 100-plus receiving yards, breaking a tie with Nat Moore for the fifth most in franchise history.
- The Point of Attack
The Panthers ran for 239 yards in the game with running back Rico Dowdle going for a career-best 206 on the ground. On the other side, the Dolphins ran for just 19 yards.
"You're not going to get far if you can't establish the line of scrimmage," Head Coach Mike McDaniel said after the game. "We were out-gained 200 yards in the run game. Collectively, from the two sides of the ball, that is not good enough. You'll rarely win, if ever. We had a shot because we were plus two (in turnovers), but bottom line is that on top of that you have critical mistakes at critical points in the game"
The Dolphins set the tone early with those takeaways on each of the Panthers' first two possessions. Outside linebacker Bradely Chubb keyed a zone-read option perfectly, spooking quarterback Bryce Young and causing a fumble.
Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick secured Miami's first interception of the season on the next drive. He leapt into the air, full extension, pulling down Young's overthrow.
After the two mistakes from the young quarterback, Carolina got back to what was working. They scored three touchdowns and two fields goals over the next seven possessions. Within those scoring drives, Carolina had seven runs of 10-plus yards, including 53-, 43- and 25-yard scampers from Dowdle.
"We sit up here every week talking about, 'We got to stop the run. Stop the run. Stop the run.' And we make it an emphasis," Chubb said. "We got to stop the run and we need to emphasize it more."
- Home for the Chargers
The best medicine after a difficult loss is the next game. The Chargers make the cross-county trip to South Florida for the Week 6 matchup with the Dolphins. After a 3-0 start the Chargers dropped their last two games and have injuries throughout the offensive side of the ball.
The Dolphins focus has quickly shifted to that game.
"Oh, 100%. 100%. I am 100% showing up, getting myself ready, getting the guys that are going to be in the game as ready as possible for us, to give us a chance," quarterback Tua Tagovailoa said about looking ahead to the matchup against the Chargers. "To go out there, score, do what we need to do to help us win a ball game."
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