The\u00a0Miami Dolphins<\/strong> sat at 1-3 on the season entering their Sunday home game against the Tennessee Titans<\/strong>. The early season schedule dealt\u00a0Miami three\u00a0tough road games\u00a0that included visits to\u00a0New England<\/strong>, Seattle<\/strong>, and Cincinnati<\/strong>.\u00a0 However, they were still undefeated at home and were coming off of a long week of rest after playing on Thursday in week\u00a0four. \u00a0The Titans also sat at 1-3, and facing their low-voltage offense offered the Dolphins the perfect opportunity to turn their season around\u2014if they were going to rally, this was the time.<\/p>\n Unfortunately\u00a0the\u00a0Dolphins played their worst game of the season on Sunday, and only a few big plays masked what should have been a blowout. \u00a0Miami’s opening score came on a 74-yard punt return touchdown\u00a0from Jakeem Grant <\/strong>in the first quarter. \u00a0They also received big passing plays from DeVante Parker,<\/strong> on a deep bomb that went for 50 yards, and on a dump-off to Damien Williams,<\/strong> who eluded two tacklers to rumble for 52 yards and set up Miami’s first offensive touchdown. \u00a0These plays supplied the Dolphins with 17 points, but that is all they would score on the day. \u00a0Their eight other offensive possessions only went for 11, 6, 9, -4, 11, -5, -10 and 20 yards\u201440 yards on eight drives.<\/p>\n Miami’s problems started up front where they were missing both their starting left guard and left tackle on their offensive line. \u00a0They gave up six sacks on the day,\u00a0two each to Derrick Morgan<\/strong>, Brian Orakpo<\/strong> and Jurrell Casey<\/strong>. \u00a0The Tennessee Titans<\/strong> had only six sacks in four games prior to Sunday. \u00a0Their lone bright-spot on offense is Jay Ajayi<\/strong> who looks the part of the starting running back after his week one benching. Despite his strong effort, Ajayi could not get anything going on Sunday and finished with just 42 rushing yards.<\/p>\n The problems for the Dolphins continued on defense. \u00a0Tennessee dictated the game from the opening whistle. \u00a0The Titans declared what their offense would be on the first play; off-tackle runs right at the defense, and Miami was never able to stop it all game.\u00a0Nearly every run featured a double-team block on defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh<\/strong>, who was held to one tackle. \u00a0Fellow tackle Jelani Jenkins<\/strong> had a few penetrations but the defensive ends were completely anonymous in both the run and pass game. \u00a0Miami finished with one quarterback\u00a0hit and no sacks, totaled four tackles for a loss, and had no interceptions or fumble recoveries. \u00a0The stats match what was seen on the field:\u00a0uninspired play and a lack of play makers.<\/p>\n This game is a huge let-down for the Fins. \u00a0Losing to a 1-3 team at home is bad, but getting blown off the field is troubling. \u00a0Particularly concerning is the play of the defensive\u00a0line. \u00a0This unit has been the centerpiece of their team for several years and has allowed the Dolphins\u00a0to stay around .500 despite shaky quarterback play. \u00a0As it stands now the Dolphins have four losses and a single victory\u2014an OT win over the 0-5 Cleveland Browns.<\/p>\n Their offensive design does not work without Eric Decker<\/strong>. They favor the spread formation with four receivers and a single back, but Brandon Marshall<\/strong> is the only player who can consistently beat man coverage. \u00a0If you cover Marshall on third down you stop this offense. Marshall was targeted 15 times but only had eight\u00a0receptions.<\/p>\n Despite the game being within one score until the fourth quarter, the Jets had only 16 called runs vs. 38 passes. \u00a0Matt Forte<\/strong> still looks like a great player but only had 14 total touches.<\/p>\n The Jets defense played well\u00a0considering the opponent. \u00a0They limited the Pittsburgh Steelers<\/strong> to 2.5 ypc on 24 rushes on the day. \u00a0However, the Jets’ offense kept them on the field the entire second half which wore them down by the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n The Jets need more from their defense, though, with the way their offense is playing. \u00a0The Jets only had a single quarterback\u00a0sack, which doubled as their lone\u00a0quarterback\u00a0hit of the day. \u00a0The D-line was not a factor in the passing game at all. \u00a0Without a dominating defensive line the Jets are not a good team.<\/p>\n The Jets have now scored seven total points in the second half of their last three games.<\/p>\n The bills opted to rush only\u00a0three or four players on third downs situations. \u00a0However, they crowded the line on early downs trying to stop LA Rams<\/strong> running back Todd Gurley<\/strong>. They were mostly successful allowing only 72 yards on 23 carries.<\/p>\n The Rams were missing three of their four starting defensive linemen. \u00a0The Bills took advantage of this by running straight up the gut all day. \u00a0The draw, power and isolation runs were all utilized successfully. The Bills finished with 193 rushing yards on 27 carries, including 150 for lead back Lesean McCoy\u2014<\/strong>most of these yards were gained in the first half.<\/p>\n In the second half the Rams stacked against the run and forced the Bills to pass with success. \u00a0After the Bills opening two touchdown\u00a0drives they gained only 166 yards of offense the rest of the game.<\/p>\n The Bills were not able to shut down the Rams’ offense. \u00a0Instead they won the game by forcing the Rams to go 1-4 in the redzone, forcing three field goals, including one from the four-yard line with less than six\u00a0minutes left.<\/p>\n Before Case Keenum<\/strong> threw an interception he had completed eight straight passes. \u00a0The Bills defense was responsible for all of their second half points. \u00a0The interception was returned for six. \u00a0Later they stuffed a fake punt attempt in Rams’ territory which was quickly punched in the endzone.<\/p>\n The Patriots can’t be evaluated against most other teams. \u00a0They have to be evaluated against the Patriots. \u00a0The stats may have looked great but this was not yet the well-oiled machine of years past.<\/p>\n The Patriots had to convert 3rd-8, 3rd-7, and 3rd-5 on each of their first three (TD) drives respectively. \u00a0On each drive they received big plays as the result of missed assignments by the Cleveland Browns<\/strong> defense. There were multiple missed tackles on both\u00a0the big catches from\u00a0Rob Gronkowski<\/strong>\u00a0and James White<\/strong>. \u00a0On the Chris Hogan<\/strong> deep bomb catch the safety got lost in center field and never covered anyone. (Yes, this is what the Patriots do. But this is a brand new Browns secondary that might not even have NFL-caliber talent at all positions, also.)<\/p>\n LeGarrette Blount<\/strong> gained only 37 yards on 18 carries. \u00a0The Pats were also stuffed on 3rd and 4th and goal on the half yard-line, resulting in a turnover. A disappointing performance against the 28th ranked run defense by DVOA.<\/p>\n On the bright side Tom Brady<\/strong> was 4\/5 when throwing deep for 185 yards. \u00a0This has been the only weakness of Brady’s game in recent years. Three of the completions were to new additions Hogan, and Martellus Bennett<\/strong>, if the new additions can stretch the field vertically this well the Pats will be nearly unstoppable. \u00a0Overall, throwing to new targets Brady was\u00a012\/16 for 188 yards and three TD’s. \u00a0New tight end Martellus Bennett<\/strong> caught all three of the TD’s. \u00a0Let the Bennett\/Gronkowski match-up nightmare begin.<\/p>\n The Pats executed their game plan on defense. \u00a0They stopped the run, allowing only 27 total yards on the ground, and made sure there were no deep balls allowed. \u00a0However, the pass rush was ineffective for most of the game. \u00a0Cody Kessler<\/strong> was 3\/3 converting 3rd downs on the Browns TD drive. \u00a0Kessler played only three series after being knocked out with injury.<\/p>\n The pass-rush has been ineffective in most games this season. \u00a0The Patriots lost their best pass rusher Chandler Jones<\/strong> in the off-season, which could prove to be\u00a0an issue all season.\u00a0Rob Ninkovich<\/strong> returned from suspension, and could help out the pass-rush soon, but played limited snaps in this game.<\/p>\n The Patriots’ special teams continue to pin teams inside the 25-yard line on kickoffs\u2014a huge hidden advantage for the defense. \u00a0On Sunday, a kick return stop at the 12 resulted in a safety two plays later.<\/p>\n Main image credit:<\/p>\nQuick Hits from the rest of the schedule<\/strong><\/h2>\n
New York Jets<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Buffalo Bills<\/strong><\/h3>\n
New England Patriots<\/strong><\/h3>\n