I am hopeful that the Dolphins can cobble together a credible effort tonight – something worth watching. At times, I get lulled into thinking they’re surprisingly decent.
The losses at Indianapolis and Cleveland, of course, are about as low as it gets. Simply dreadful. And I don’t see any scenario where the Dolphins don’t fire Mike McDaniel, then spend the offseason mapping out how to move on from Tua Tagovailoa. They’ll be blowing things up.
At the same time, they keep putting the ball in the end zone. They put up 34 points at Atlanta against a defense ranking No. 1 in pass defense. And prior to the Cleveland debacle, the offense scored 3 TDs in each of their previous four games.
The 49ers, in comparison, have scored 3 TDs in only one game all year.
Miami is one of only six teams (and I wouldn’t make this up) that’s offense has scored at least 3 TDs in five of their last six games. Colts, Lions, Cowboys, Packers, Kansas City – and Miami. (I’ve got those offenses tagged with black dots.)
In the chart below, you’re looking at stats from the last six games for each team. Points, TD passes, TD runs, offensive touchdowns, and percentage of games with at least 3 TDs.
Dolphins a flawed, lesser team, but with some offensive popped. If we get another lesser performance from Ravens defense tonight, it could make for an interesting game.
| SCORING, LAST SIX GAMES | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Pts/G | TDP | TDR | Total | Pct |
| • Indianapolis | 34.7 | 11 | 15 | 26 | 83% |
| • Detroit | 33.7 | 15 | 10 | 25 | 83% |
| • Dallas | 31.0 | 15 | 6 | 21 | 83% |
| Seattle | 30.0 | 12 | 7 | 19 | 67% |
| • Kansas City | 29.3 | 15 | 7 | 22 | 83% |
| New England | 27.8 | 12 | 6 | 18 | 67% |
| • Green Bay | 27.7 | 11 | 8 | 19 | 83% |
| Buffalo | 27.7 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 67% |
| Philadelphia | 27.3 | 15 | 4 | 19 | 67% |
| LA Rams | 26.8 | 16 | 3 | 19 | 67% |
| Denver | 26.5 | 11 | 8 | 19 | 50% |
| Tampa Bay | 25.7 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 33% |
| Washington | 24.7 | 9 | 7 | 16 | 67% |
| Chicago | 24.0 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 33% |
| Houston | 24.0 | 11 | 3 | 14 | 33% |
| Pittsburgh | 23.5 | 12 | 3 | 15 | 50% |
| LA Chargers | 23.5 | 11 | 3 | 14 | 33% |
| • Miami | 23.2 | 12 | 4 | 16 | 83% |
| Baltimore | 22.3 | 9 | 5 | 14 | 50% |
| Arizona | 22.2 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 33% |
| NY Giants | 21.7 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 33% |
| Minnesota | 21.3 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 33% |
| Cincinnati | 21.0 | 11 | 3 | 14 | 50% |
| NY Jets | 21.0 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 17% |
| Carolina | 20.3 | 8 | 4 | 12 | 33% |
| Jacksonville | 20.0 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 33% |
| San Francisco | 19.5 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 0% |
| Atlanta | 16.7 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 33% |
| New Orleans | 15.7 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 0% |
| Cleveland | 15.5 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 17% |
| Las Vegas | 13.8 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 33% |
| Tennessee | 13.2 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 0% |
—Ian Allan