Losses aside, Dolphins have the talent: coach

DAVIE, FLA. A year ago, November ended with the Miami Dolphins riding a six-game winning streak on the way to their first playoff berth since 2008.

Now the franchise is headed in the opposite direction, and the outlook is bleak with a month still to go in Adam Gase’s second season as coach.

The Dolphins’ five-game losing streak is their longest since 2011, near the end of the Tony Sparano era. Gase’s pilloried predecessor, Joe Philbin, never endured such a dismal stretch.

But Gase said the Dolphins (4-7) have the talent to win and can still turn things around, beginning on Sunday against the woeful Denver Broncos (3-8).

“I like the guys we have on the roster,” Gase said Monday. “There are a lot of things we can do better, but these guys have done a good job of sticking together through a little bit of adversity. Things haven’t always gone as we’ve planned.”

A 35-17 loss Sunday to the New England Patriots wasn’t part of the plan, and it accelerated a dismal stretch for the Dolphins. They’ve been outscored 177-82 during the losing streak, and by 115 points this season — second-worst in the NFL ahead of only the winless Cleveland Browns.

To compound the misery, injuries continue to mount. Running back Damien Williams was carted off the field Sunday with a shoulder injury, and Gase didn’t rule him out of the Denver game. Kenyan Drake is now the only healthy running back on the roster. Defensive end William Hayes will likely miss the rest of the season with a back injury that sidelined him against the Patriots, Gase said.

Quarterback Jay Cutler, who sat out because of a concussion, may return this week. Matt Moore replaced him against New England and lost his fourth start in a row, including the final two games of the 2016 season.