By Sylvester “Nunnie” Robinson
With the Dolphins leading 27-14 with under 3 minutes to go, the East Division leading Miami Dolphins allowed a mediocre 4-8 Tennessee Titans team to orchestrate an incredible comeback. Something in the milk ain’t white! Of course, the dread and apprehension that I felt prior to opening kickoff began last week against the Commanders. They subsequently rose to the occasion, defeating an inferior opponent. Not so with the Titans who always play hard regardless of the team they are facing or divisional standings.
Actually, the Dolphins didn’t deserve to win the game though Tennessee tried to gift wrap it to them. They failed to score an offensive touchdown in the first half and appeared to be out of sync the majority of game. Injuries to Jaylen Waddle, Tyreek Hill and center Connor Williams (out for seson) drastically changed the Dolphins’ output. And teams with championship aspirations somehow managed to overcome those inevitabilities, something the Dolphins haven’t shown the propensity to do.
Have you noticed the trend lately? Teams that were losing miserably early in season have begun to turn it around, i.e, the Bears defeating the Lions, Giants overtaking the Packers and the Jets’ surprising victory over the Texans. We’ve often said on any given Sunday in the NFL any team can upset another.
So the question simply stated is : Are the Dolphins a championship, Super Bowl contender or are they an ascending team merely fighting for a playoff spot? The jury is still out, but these next few weeks will tell us a lot about this version of the Dolphins.
Losing to the Titans, a team that at least on paper they should have beaten, has weakened their division and conference standings. With quarterback Zach Wilson playing much better, the upcoming home game against the Jets is not a certainty after their decisive victory over a good Houston Texans team, which means that the Dolphins will answer that question themselves as they face a daunting schedule. After New York they face the Cowboys , Bills and Ravens.
Injuries on defense and offense to key players on the line and at wide receiver, a lack of depth especially in the secondary, and getting Tua off schedule with pressure, creating momentary hesitation are issues that must be addressed and rectified.
One other observation: after the Titans scored so easily, converting the 2 point play to quickly reduce the deficit to 6 points, I wonder if you were as curious as I was about the Dolphins play selection – 2 runs and a sack. One first down could have secured a victory, but it didn’t appear that getting that first down was a priority. They in short order punted to Titans. The rest is history. I just thought it mighty bizarre.
