The Dolphins dropped a tough one to the Packers in frigid conditions at Lambeau Field. Miami picked itself up off the mat for a strong finish, but the 24-3 halftime deficit proved too much to overcome.
These are the takeaways from the Thanksgiving loss in Green Bay.
- Self-Inflicted Wounds
The game couldn't have started much better for the Dolphins, who forced the Packers offense off the field with an opening drive three-and-out. But that's where the fun ceased.
Rookie wide receiver Malik Washington's muffed punt set the Packers up first-and-goal, and just six offensive plays into the game, Miami was behind by a touchdown. Then, the offense committed three penalties on its opening drive before kicking it back to the Packers, who drove 76 yards to stretch the early lead to 14.
Things snowballed from there as the run game struggled to find its footing with just 39 yards on 14 attempts, creating frequent third-and-longs. As a result, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was sacked five times.
Yet, despite the slow start, the Dolphins had the ball at the Packers' 1-yard-line with 11 minutes remaining and a 16-point deficit; a chance to make it a one-possession game with more than enough time remaining. Instead, a run stuff, a broken-up pass and a sack turned the ball back over to Green Bay.
"One of the biggest things that good teams do when they're playing good teams is they play clean football and allow the opponents to make mistakes," Head Coach Mike McDaniel said. "That's what the Packers did to us."
- Tackling Needs Tuning
The Packers didn't hit the 30-point threshold on a lot of downfield passes. It was their ability to throw short, quickly, and the Dolphins' inability to get those players to the ground. By the end of the game, Next Gen Stats charged the Dolphins with 17 missed tackles leading to an extra 125 yards for the Green Bay offense.
"So much of the production, over 100-some odd yards for them offensively, were as a result of tackling," McDaniel said. "I saw a consistent failure of tacklers to bring their feet through the tackle – just picture diving and leaving your feet to try to wrap up, as opposed to bringing your feet through the tackle, which is our No. 1 fundamental emphasis when we do that."
- Jonnu Stays Hot
If you drifted into a post-turkey slumber and awoke to the box score of the game, you might think the Dolphins won in blow out fashion when looking at Tagovailoa's box score. The Miami quarterback threw for 365 yards, two touchdowns and didn't turn the ball over.
Yet again, his top target was one of Miami's best free agent acquisitions in recent memory in tight end Jonnu Smith. Taking advantage of the space created by the Miami offense and their star wide receivers, Smith went over the century mark for the second time in three weeks with 10 catches for 113 yards.
Four games into his Dolphins tenure, Smith had just nine receptions for 78 yards. But over the last seven games, Smith has 49 receptions for 570 yards and four touchdowns.
"He's really done a great job understanding how to get open in the timing of the play," McDaniel said of Smith. "If you're separating when Tua's ready to throw it, you generally have a have a high completion percentage. He's really earned each and every added opportunity based upon just being supremely coachable and then he gives you incentive to find ways to get him the ball when you can throw short and he can run long."
For more analysis, takeaways and breakdowns, download the Drive Time Podcast with Travis Wingfield, available on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
