Dolphins were ‘dealt some strong humility’ in blowout loss to Colts

Injuries weren’t the primary problem in Indy; Miami’s biggest issues were largely self-inflicted.

Tua Tagovailoa missed Tyreek Hill high over the middle on his third pass of the season and veteran safety Camryn Bynum clasped onto the errant throw to snuff out a potential scoring chance.

The next time Tagovailoa dropped back, he didn’t seem to anticipate the blitz coming from cornerback Kenny Moore II even though McDaniel insisted his team practiced against every blitz the Colts brought. Moore hit Tagovailoa squarely in the back, jarring the ball loose. Former Dolphin Xavien Howard scooped the ball up and five plays later, the Colts led, 17-0.

It wasn’t just those two plays that made it such an underwhelming performance for Tagovailoa. He was 14 of 23 for 114 yards, with three sacks, two interceptions and the lost fumble. His first TD pass of the season came on an 11-yard screen play that required a monumental effort from running back De’Von Achane to bowl over would-be tacklers on fourth-and-goal with 6:21 left in the game.

And that came after Miami drew a 5-yard penalty for too many players in the huddle.

The good news: Miami avoided getting shut out for the first time in four years. Now, the Dolphins must figure out what went wrong and why. Their two top receivers, Hill and Jaylen Waddle, each caught four passes and combined for 70 yards.

“There’s a lot of things we need to look at,” Tagovailoa said after Miami produced just 211 total yards, 65 coming on that late scoring drive. “We need to look in the mirror. We need to continue to hold each other accountable. As a team, collectively, this was something we were trying to avoid. But could this be good for us? We’ll see how we respond next week.”

The defense and special teams were equally mistake-prone.

Indy converted all seven of its possessions into points — four field goals and three touchdowns — and the only time Miami forced a punt, Judon ran into Colts punter Rigoberto Sanchez. That 5-yard penalty extended the drive and allowed the Colts to close out the first half with a field goal for a 20-0 lead.

“This isn’t going to shake our confidence and cause us to start pointing fingers, but it is going to be a good opportunity for us to not have any egos,” linebacker Jaelan Phillips said. “Every single player today on that field did something that needs to be worked on. We just have to keep pushing forward.”

Or, as McDaniel acknowledged, figure out some solutions fast.

“In this league, you’re either crowned or shunned,” he said. “But we’re in control of how this plays out going forward.”