The Dolphins were sitting pretty when they were up 17-0 in the second quarter of Sunday’s game against the Panthers, but there were no smiles when the game ended.
Carolina cut the lead to 17-10 before halftime and scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, including the game-winner on the final play before the two-minute warning. They fueled the comeback with Rico Dowdle running for 206 yards on 23 carries, which doesn’t come as much surprise given that Miami came into the game ranked 30th in rushing yards allowed.
The Dolphins’ own rushing offense accounted for 19 yards and they allowed three sacks in a loss that head coach Mike McDaniel chalked up to “preparation and execution” after the game. McDaniel said “we thought we were prepared for this, and clearly we weren’t.” The run defense was particularly nettlesome to the head coach.
“If you can’t get it right during the game, they will continue to do the least risky thing,” McDaniel said, via Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. “It’s not how you win football games in this league. We have to figure that out immediately. I’ll start on the plane. . . . We need guys playing on the same page. You don’t give up that many line of scrimmage yards unless you’re uncoordinated in certain ways. If play calls need to change for that to occur, [we will]. It can’t continue to go on like this. It’s already gone on too long.”
Most Dolphins fans would agree with that and some have said the same about McDaniel’s tenure, but there’s no sign of an imminent change on that front in Miami.
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