Patient Dolphins shred Raiders in team’s 6th straight loss: ‘No excuse’
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The Raiders dared quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and the aggressive Dolphins offense to play a patient, methodical game Sunday.
Miami obliged. The Dolphins put together one long scoring drive after another to beat the Raiders 34-19 at Hard Rock Stadium.
The Raiders (2-8) lost their sixth straight, their longest regular-season losing streak since losing 10 in a row in 2014. The Jaguars (2-9) are the only NFL team with a worse record this season.
What made Sunday even more frustrating was the fact that the Raiders took a step forward on offense under interim offensive coordinator Scott Turner.
Rookie tight end Brock Bowers set career highs in catches (13) and receiving yards (126). Quarterback Gardner Minshew completed 30 of 43 passes for 282 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
It was the first 100-yard game of Bowers’ NFL career.
“It definitely felt better, man,” Minshew said of the offense.
It didn’t matter.
Tagovailoa resisted any urge to throw recklessly into a Raiders defense designed to take away big plays. As a result, the Dolphins (4-6) scored on six of their seven drives and didn’t punt all day.
What was the plan?
The Raiders didn’t believe Tagovailoa and Miami were disciplined enough to move down the field with short gains. They also thought the Dolphins would make a mistake at some point, whether it be a turnover or a critical penalty.
The Raiders were wrong. The only Miami possession that didn’t result in points started 45 seconds before the end of the first half.
The Dolphins had two 14-play scoring drives, one 10-play scoring drive and a 16-play scoring drive. They also didn’t commit a turnover.
It was death by a thousand paper cuts for the Raiders.
“A lot of times, teams aren’t willing to do that,” safety Isaiah Pola-Mao said.
The game was uncharacteristic for the Dolphins. Coach Mike McDaniel said his team only had three scoring drives that lasted at least 14 plays all of last season. But Tagovailoa, who completed 28 of 36 passes for 288 yards and three touchdowns, remained composed against the Raiders.
“He’s got control of the emotional piece of a football game,” McDaniel said. “He wasn’t trying to force things unnecessarily. He isn’t trying to make plays when they’re not there.”
The result was a frustrating day for the Raiders. They didn’t help matters with a couple of critical defensive penalties that extended Miami drives and a few communication breakdowns that led to two touchdowns for tight end Jonnu Smith.
The Raiders also didn’t get the Dolphins off the field when they had the chance. Miami converted eight of its 12 attempts on third down.
Injuries pile up
The Raiders’ task was made tougher by the fact that they were down to three backup cornerbacks Sunday after starters Jakorian Bennett and Jack Jones suffered injuries against the Dolphins. Starter Nate Hobbs was inactive with an ankle injury as well.
“New guys come in, just got to keep talking. Overcommunicating is what we’re talking about when you get either a younger guy in there or somebody who hasn’t got a lot of reps,” Raiders coach Antonio Pierce said. “No excuse. Got to keep communicating.”
The Dolphins led 10-6 at halftime and 24-12 with 10:37 remaining in the fourth quarter. The Raiders cut their deficit to 24-19 with 4:23 left in the game, but Tagovailoa threw a 57-yard touchdown pass to Smith on Miami’s next drive.
Minshew responded with an interception, his ninth of the season, to all but seal the win for the Dolphins.
The loss did not officially eliminate the Raiders from playoff contention, but it’s only a matter of time at this point. All they can do now is try to stop the bleeding.
“You can make excuses and things like that, it’s on all of us to find ways to win,” defensive end Maxx Crosby said. “That’s all we can do. Like I said, you play for pride. There’s still a lot of football left, a lot to play for in a lot of ways, so we just have to keep showing up.”
Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on X
