5 THINGS WE LEARNED
Tua Tagovailoa’s fumbles are a cause for concern:
Maybe it was the wet ball, but the Dolphins have to address whatever the cause was for Tagovailoa’s three fumbles against the Titans. On one pass attempt the ball slipped out of his hand during a heavy downpour of rain. Another was on a bad exchange with the center. Maybe Tagovailoa should consider wearing gloves because he’s now fumbled seven times this season.
Questionable calls didn’t help Dolphins:
There were a series of questionable calls made throughout Sunday’s game, but the most glaring was a pass interference that wasn’t called on a fourth-and-11 play from Miami’s 27-yard line. Trailing, 17-3, the Dolphins opted against kicking a 44-yard field goal and DeVante Parker had his arm grabbed and was being pulled down by Titans cornerback Janoris Jenkins while a pass from Tagovailoa was coming his way. Parker was so upset by the non-call he yelled at the ref and got hit with an unsportsmanlike penalty.
Covering Titans’A.J. Brown 1-on-1 seemed unwise:
Even though Tennessee didn’t have receiver Julio Jones, who is on the COVID19 list, the Dolphins decided against double covering Brown, or having Pro Bowl cornerback Xavien Howard shadow him for the entire game. Brown finished the game with two receptions for 41 yards on five targets. It wasn’t a dominant performance, but Miami’s strategy against one of the NFL’s better young receivers was a little head-scratching.
Dolphins remain awful in January outdoor regular-season road games:
In January of 1983, Miami, at the end of the nine-game strike season, traveled to Baltimore and routed the Colts 34-7. In the 39 seasons since then, the Dolphins have gone 1-6 in outdoor January road contest, allowing an average of 34.3 points a game.
Dolphins’ quarterback has gotten loose with ball security since the bye week:
In his first nine games of the season, Tua Tagovailoa had 10 turnover-worthy plays (any fumble, interception or incomplete pass that hits both hands of a defender). In the three games since the team’s off week, he has piled up 13 of them, a halfdozen of them against the Titans. Five have resulted in a change of possession, one a fourth-quarter, game-tying pick-six against the Jets.