Dolphins-Vikings Five Biggest Storylines ... And How They Played Out

The Miami Dolphins dropped to 3-3 on the season when they suffered their third consecutive loss, 24-16 against the Minnesota Vikings at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday.

Heading into the matchup, we ranked and analyzed the five biggest storylines, so now it's time to revisit those to see how they played out.

1. Can Skylar Step Up in First Start?

BEFORE THE GAME: The Dolphins will have a different starting quarterback for a third consecutive time, and this time it's rookie seventh-round pick Skylar Thompson who gets the nod after Tua Tagovailoa and Teddy Bridgewater each ended up in the concussion protocol. While Thompson performed admirably against the New York Jets last Sunday in his NFL debut, the circumstances will be far more advantageous this time around because Thompson took all the first-team reps in practice this week. All that said, this is still a rookie making his first NFL start against a Minnesota defense that has a lot of front-line players.

DURING THE GAME: Yes, Skylar Thompson most definitely showed he was up to the task and made some really impressive throws while he was in the lineup. Unfortunately, he didn't get a lot of help from his teammates, whether it be in the form of penalties that wiped out positive plays and nice throws or pressure that ended promising drives. And, of course, it was one of those pressures allowed by a shaky offensive line that got Thompson knocked out of the game in the second quarter when his right hand hit a Minnesota helmet on a follow-through. Despite the abbreviated appearance, we saw enough from Thompson to feel confident about his ability to handle another start should circumstances dictate it.

2. Armstead and the Pass Protection

BEFORE THE GAME: For a fifth consecutive week, prized free agent acquisition Terron Armstead didn't practice because of the toe injury he sustained in the season opener against New England, but this time it came after he aggravated the injury and had to leave the Jets game early and then had a pre-scheduled visit with a specialist in New York. Bottom line: Armstead is an even bigger question mark than at any point this season. That's problematic because of what we saw in terms of the pass protection against the Jets when there were a few breakdowns, most notably when Thompson's arm was hit on a pass intended for River Cracraft, resulting in a floater that easily was intercepted by Jets rookie cornerback Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner.

DURING THE GAME: See the first storyline. No, the pass protection wasn't up to snuff against the Vikings, who sacked Thompson and Teddy Bridgewater a combined six times to go along with an unacceptable 13 QB hits. And the biggest reason for the porous pass protection no doubt was the absence of Armstead, who ended up having to sit out the game with that nagging toe injury. With Armstead out, Greg Little switched from his right tackle spot to the left, where he's had the most experience in his career, but he struggled all afternoon against the Vikings pass rushers. And it wasn't just him, which made life uneasy for Thompson and Bridgewater.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

FOR EVEN MORE COVERAGE ON THE MIAMI DOLPHINS, CHECK OUT SPORTS ILLUSTRATED'S MIAMI DOLPHINS PAGE ON SI.COM

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

3. Will There Be a Repeat from Raheem?

BEFORE THE GAME: Perhaps the most encouraging aspect of the Jets game was the breakout performance by running back Raheem Mostert, who had the first 100-yard individual rushing performance of the season for the Dolphins. Another similar outing obviously would make life a lot easier for Thompson and there's no understating the importance of that. But Mostert ended the week listed as questionable on the final injury report with a knee injury that had him limited in practice. If Mostert can't play or perform at the same level as a week ago, then that'll put more pressure on running backs Chase Edmonds and/or Myles Gaskin to deliver.

DURING THE GAME: Unfortunately, that was no repeat performance from Mostert, who managed only 49 on 14 carries for a 3.5 average with a long of 16 yards. Outside of that 16-yard run, the two longest runs of the game for the Dolphins were scrambles by Bridgewater (10 yards) and Thompson (9). This was not the way to help out the quarterbacks.

4. X and Dealing with Jefferson

BEFORE THE GAME: The Cincinnati game in Week 4 matched two great groups of wide receivers, and we've got another one of those matchups in this game with Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle on the Dolphins side and Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen on the other. It turned out to be Tee Higgins who gave the Dolphins problems in that Week 4, but it needs to be said that Xavien Howard was dealing with groin issues that limited his effectiveness and sidelined him for the Week 5 game against the Jets. Howard will be back against the Vikings and he needs to be on top of his game if the Dolphins are to slow down the Minnesota passing game.

DURING THE GAME: All told, Kirk Cousins passed for 175 yards, a very low total particularly considering the injuries the Dolphins sustained in the secondary. But there were two bad plays that ended up paving the way for two Vikings touchdowns. The biggest came on the last play of the third quarter when the Vikings ran a rub route to create interference on Howard and allow Jefferson to get separation moving outside before he turned up for an easy pitch-and-catch with Kirk Cousins. Earlier, Howard got lost inside in traffic and let Jefferson wide open outside for an easy pitch-and-catch that set up Minnesota's first touchdown. Howard also got beat on the touchdown pass to Adam Thielen, but that came on a play when Cousins had too much time in the pocket to find a receiver. Howard did have a couple of nice plays, but it wasn't necessarily his best work overall.

5. The Special Teams and the Kicker Battle

BEFORE THE GAME: The game will feature a matchup of the two kickers who battled in Dolphins training camp in 2018, Jason Sanders and Greg Joseph. Sanders won that battle, which was to be expected since he was a draft pick and Joseph was a rookie free agent, and he's been a good, at times great, kicker for the Dolphins. But he had a key miss against the Jets last week — albeit from 54 yards out — when a successful kick would have given the Dolphins a fourth-quarter. While it's obviously important that Sanders outkick Joseph in this game — or at least match him — the special teams need to pick up their performance because that part of the game has been massively sub-par for the Dolphins so far in 2022.

DURING THE GAME: Yes, this is becoming a nasty replay for the Dolphins, who seem to lose the special teams battle every single game. On this day, Jason Sanders was wide right on a 52-yard field goal attempt in the second quarter, the Dolphins gave up a 25-yard punt return after Thomas Morstead outkicked the coverage, and Tyreek Hill and Jevon Holland combined for only 2 yards on three punt returns — and Holland was bailed out by Jaelan Phillips recovering his muffed punt in the first quarter. This was a game where the Dolphins' margin for error, particularly given their penalties and injuries, was very small and it would have helped to get a hand from their special teams. Again, though, the opposite happened.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks for reading. Make sure to bookmark this site and check back daily for the latest Dolphins news and analysis year-round. Also, you can follow me on Twitter at @PoupartNFL, and that's where you can ask questions for the regular All Dolphins mailbags. You also can ask questions via email at fnalldolphins@yahoo.com.