Titans at Dolphins: 3 things we learned
By Matt Kerns
It was a gritty performance by the Tennesee Titans (2-3) but they were able to defeat the Miami Dolphins (1-4) 30-17 on Sunday.
The Titans proved to be the better team Sunday, winning both wars in the trenches on the offensive and defensive line. Miami showed to be no match as they surrendered all sorts of pressure to the Titans who benefited from the Dolphins missing two of their starters (Laremy Tunsil and Branden Albert).
Tennesee shifted their pass rushers Brian Orakpo (2 sacks, 3 tackles for loss) and Jurrell Casey (2 sacks 2 tackles for loss) to the left side of the Dolphins line and it proved to pay huge dividends. Orakpo now has six sacks on the season.
DeMarco Murray and the Titans running game continued to plow their way through opposing defenses. The Titans running attack is the MVP for the game. Tennessee had the ball for 36 minutes and 44 seconds, 13 more minutes than the Dolphins.
Miami fans chanted for backup quarterback, Matt Moore in the later minutes of the game. We’ll see what happens moving forward but not matter who’s at quarterback for the Dolphins, they’ll still have the same pressure in their face, collapsing the pocket.
3 Things we learned
1. The Dolphins offense has significant problems
First, let’s start with the quarterback. Tannehill made some pretty poor throws on Sunday. Partially in part because whenever he dropped back, there was a blue jersey in front of him nearly every time. Whether it’s Tannehill at quarterback or Moore, it won’t matter until the offensive line gets healthy, but more importantly, get better.
But what is hurting Tannehill is the turnovers. He had another two interceptions on Sunday, which gives him seven on the year. His first interception, which led to a Titans field goal, came with a clean pocket where Tannehill put the ball behind his receiver.
The running game is also atrocious in itself. Partly because the line is so poor. But they don’t have a true, downhill runner that can cause mismatches for the defense. Arian Foster when healthy has looked way past his prime. Jay Ajayi played a bulk of the snaps on Sunday and was hardly helpful for the offense. He had 13 carries and 42 yards, with an average of 3.2 yards per touch.
2. The Titans are alive
Coming into the game, the Titans were down but not out. With a loss, it would be extremely tough to fight back at 1-4. But the Titans were able to snag a win. They played much better, especially on the defensive side of the ball.
Additionally, Marcus Mariota didn’t turn the ball over (which he had done in every game this year). His play elevated the Titans offense. He only threw for 163 yards and averaged just 5.62 yards per pass attempt. He did have four touchdowns, three throwing and one rushing. Eliminating the turnovers helped big time.
He didn’t have to do it all by himself, the running game came to play as usual, but Mariota had quite the game. What I found most impressive was he only needed to throw 29 times. With the offense set as it is, there’s no reason why Mariota needs to be throwing more than 30 times.
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3. Miami’s playmakers yet to be unleashed
DeVante Parker, Kenny Stills, and Jarvis Landry had just five catches between the trio. Not enough for the team’s top weapons. The Dolphins offensive line didn’t permit very much time for Tannehill to air it out. With that being said, I was surprised to see the lack of screens by the Dolphins, to at least try and hinder the Titans rushers.
Without Landry and Parker involved, this offense won’t scare anyone. It’s not like the Dolphin’s don’t have playmakers, they are there but aren’t getting the ball. Now it all goes back to the offensive line, but they need to get the ball somehow, whether it be by pass or run.