Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Dolphins struggle to accept bitter ending
Players struggling to accept progress made after stunning loss
Miami Dolphins defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah said the season finale was the most embarrassing loss of his career.
Linebacker Jerome Baker believes the performance and outcome did not represent who the Dolphins became this season.
Fellow defender Eric Rowe is left puzzled after the Dolphins’ 2020 season ended bitterly with a 56-26 shellacking by the hands of the AFC East champion Buffalo Bills that kicked Miami out of playoff contention.
“We won 10 games, and a lot of people didn’t think we could win 10 games,” Ogbah said.
“You see 10 wins is not enough. It’s a lot. It’s a lot of wins. It’s a lot to get,” Rowe said. “But 10 wins isn’t enough.”
One day after their season ended, the Dolphins (10-6) are struggling to come to terms with the significant progress they made in Brian Flores’ second season and how it ended.
The Dolphins entered the Buffalo game holding the No. 5 seed among seven teams in the AFC playoff race. They needed a win over the Bills to reach the playoffs for the first time under Flores and just the third time since 2001.
Instead, the Dolphins suffered their fifth consecutive loss to the Bills.
They saw a 22-point firsthalf deficit turn into a gaping 37-point hole late in the fourth quarter before rookie quarterback Tua Tagovailoa threw his only touchdown pass of the game to rookie Malcolm Perry with 2:47 left to play.
And Miami saw the three other teams they needed to lose — the Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens and Indianapolis Colts — take care of business to reach the postseason themselves.
“I’m not sure what happened that game because that’s definitely not us as a team really the whole year. That reminded me of last year when we were getting beat by Baltimore like that. So yeah, it’s not a good feeling,” Rowe said.
“But I’m not sure what happened. There’s no exact word you can put on it. Maybe, it was a feeling like the energy was dying and after that, they were taxing it on us. I’m not sure what happened.”
The Dolphins have come a long way since the game Rowe mentioned.
Pompano Beach native and last season NFL MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson helped the Ravens hang a 59-10 beatdown on the Dolphins in the first game of the Flores era. One game later, New England beat Miami, 43-0.
Even though the Dolphins started the 2019 season with seven consecutive losses, that’s when the ball started rolling on the foundation Flores has set for Miami’s future. The Dolphins won five of their last nine games, which sparked the momentum needed for a massive overhaul last offseason.
Tagovailoa headlined a rookie class that gained valuable experience. Ogbah, cornerback Byron Jones and outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy were among some of the talented free agents signed to propel the Dolphins this season.
The Dolphins doubled their five-win total from 2019 to their 10-6 record during the 2020 season, falling just a game short of the playoffs. And now, the franchise can turn it’s attention to what the future could hold with its foundation set.
“It did expose things that we need to work on to make that jump for next year,” Rowe said of the Bills loss.
“But looking from last year, from ‘19 season to this season, was a huge jump. So now, we’re obviously planning to take that momentum from this year to next year to make that next jump where we can compete with playoff contending teams.”
The Dolphins plan to use the ending of their 2020 season as fuel to their fire. But it won’t mean anything unless the Dolphins apply that fire next season based on the Dolphins’ history following 10-win seasons.
Miami last made the playoffs in 2016 with a 10-6 record under former coach Adam Gase, but fell to 6-10 and 7-9 in the next two seasons. Before that, the Dolphins reached the postseason under Tony Sparano with an 11-5 record and their last division title in 2008 before consecutive 7-9 seasons after that.
Along with another playoff appearance, the Dolphins are still waiting for their first playoff win since 2000, its first AFC title game since 1992, its first Super Bowl appearance since 1984, and first Super Bowl title since 1972 and 1973.
The Dolphins may not be close to achieving those goals just yet.
But they believe they’re on their way.
“2021 is our year,” Ogbah said.
“Definitely, 2021 is our year. But ultimately, we have to put the work in to make sure it’s our year,” Baker added. “We’re hungry to get back out there and excited to get back to work. We have to put the work in before we can start saying that.”