3 Reasons Why The Dolphins Lost To The Bills In Week 4

In this weekly column, I outline 3 reasons why the Dolphins won or lost their previous game, and provide a short preview for next week’s game.

The Miami Dolphins suffered a humiliating 20-48 loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 4, falling to 3-1 on the season. Here’s three reasons why the Dolphins couldn’t beat the Bills:

Reason 1: Sloppy Football

Negative plays, turnovers, and penalties galore. On both sides of the football, the Dolphins played extremely sloppy football on Sunday.

On offense, an injury-riddled offensive line gave up four sacks, while the rest of the offense had two turnovers, and eight penalties for 98 yards. On defense, multiple pass-interference calls (justified or not) and unnecessary-roughness penalties gave the Bills a lifeline on more than one occasion, and against one of the best teams in the NFL, that’s a recipe for disaster.

Reason 2: Lack Of Creativity On Offense

After a 70-point showing in Week 3, Miami’s offense was completely devoid of ideas in Week 4.

Head coach Mike McDaniel looked lost against counterpart Sean McDermott, and consistently let the team down with his play-calling. I mean, a halfback toss out of the shotgun on 3rd-and-1? Running screen plays on 4th-down? Really? These decisions (and more) led to a turgid performance on offense, as Miami finished the game with just 20 points and 393 yards of total offense, most which came in garbage time.

Ultimately, it felt like the Dolphins moved away from what made their offense so great to start the season, and that cost them the game.

Reason 3: Didn’t Get The Ball Into The Right Hands

Games like yesterday are why you pay Tyreek Hill the big bucks, and why you move up to draft Jaylen Waddle.

Well, actually, I guess not, seeing as Miami didn’t make use of either of their superstar wideouts against the Bills. Hill finished the game with just three catches for 58 yards, while Waddle managed four receptions for 46 yards. Neither player had enough involvement on offense, and in a divisional matchup with potential playoff implications down the road, that’s simply not good enough. You have weapons for a reason, use them!

Game Preview:

The Dolphins travel back to Hard Rock Stadium in Week 5, taking on the 1-2 New York Giants. The Giants play tonight on Monday Night Football in, taking on the 2-1 Seattle Seahawks.

What did you think of the Dolphins’ performance in the Week 4? What was your biggest concern? Let us know in the comments below!