Miami Dolphins Week 8 Instant Takeaways: Second-Half Collapse Costs Potential Signature Win

The Miami Dolphins really had a shot at getting their first signature win of the Jeff Hafley era, they really did.

But if it hadn't already been established, the game served as a reminder this is a team that's operating with a very small margin for error, and there were a few too many of those in the second half, along with a controversial officiating reversal that changed the momentum.

Truth to be told, this was an encouraging performance by the Dolphins in the big picture, even if they did let one slip away after leading 13-3 at halftime after completely shutting down an injury-riddled New England offense.

The Dolphins are making progress, that's what's important here. And, yes, they did make progress and still look much improved from the team they were in the early weeks of the regular season.

Dolphins fans no doubt will lament the replay official overturning the Dolphins' fourth-down stop when they were leading 13-10 in the third quarter, instead giving New England a first down that kept alive what became the touchdown drive that gave them the lead for good.

But it wasn't the only play that swung the tide.

Ollie Gordon II got flagged for an unnecessary and, frankly, stupid unsportsmanlike conduct for yapping at an opponent to turn a third-and-5 into a third-and-20 in that forgettable third quarter. Then Zane Gonzalez, elevated from the practice squad for a second consecutive week, badly missed a 43-yard field goal attempt to basically put the Dolphins in a position where there only shot was to recover an onside kick, which basically never happens in the NFL anymore.

Beyond that, New England simply was the better team in the second half when they outscored the Dolphins 21-6, though the Dolphins again were plucky and fought to the end, as we figure they'll do all season even if the wins aren't that frequent.

OTHER THOUGHTS ABOUT GORDON AND THE OFFENSE

-- It figured that Gordon would have a tougher time against the Patriots, particularly with Kadyn Proctor missing the game with his concussion, and that's how it played out. And we wouldn't fret over his ability to have other big games.

-- While we don't necessarily complain about play-calling, there was a pretty obvious lack of urgency in the fourth quarter when the Dolphins were down two scores and still running the ball, and often letting the play clock run down.

-- This isn't their identity, but this was a game where the Dolphins needed to air it out in the fourth quarter, not be calling running plays on second-and-12.

-- Malik Willis was fine, even though his performance wasn't as good as it was against the New York Jets. He certainly wasn't the reason the Dolphins lost.

-- Guard Jonah Savaiinaea has no doubt made significant improvement in his second season, but there's still some lapses that show up in his game.

-- Jarrett Kingston did a respectable job in place of rookie Kadyn Proctor, though he had to overcome a shaky start.

-- On the flip side, Austin Jackson had one of his best performances of the season.

THOUGHTS ON DEFENSE AND SPECIAL TEAMS

-- The defense hardly could have played better in the first half and it seemed as though everybody chipped in.

-- What hurt more than anything in the second half were the two big plays, the two long touchdown passes that accounted for almost half of Drake Maye's passing yardage.

-- Props to Jacob Rodriguez for creating a turnover with a perfect Peanut punch, though he overall had a pretty quiet game.

-- The pass defense continues to get shredded, with Maye completing 80 percent of his passes. The coverage on DeMario Douglas' 43-yard touchdown was particularly depressing as he caught a pass wide open between defenders and had so much space that he could zigzag the rest of the way to the end zone.

-- Chris Johnson is normally a very good tackler, which is why it was so baffling to see whatever that was that he attempted against Maye when he came in free from behind for what should have been a sack. He should have had redemption later on that drive with a fourth-down stop, but of course there came the overrule from the replay assistant when television replays didn't suggest anything obvious enough to overturn the original ruling.

-- That play was just yet another example why instant replay stinks.

-- Yes, Willie Gay Jr. looked kind of bad on Maye's rushing touchdown off an option play, but the reality is he was one defender against two offensive players. There didn't appear to be anybody outside to handle the pitch had he zeroed in on Maye, so he was kind of in an impossible position there.

-- The special teams again had a rough outing, but missed field goals will happen and long punt returns allowed unfortunately have become commonplace. What's unforgivable is Jaylen Wright fielding a kickoff near the sideline instead of putting himself out of bounds before touching the ball, which would have created a penalty on the Patriots and given Miami the ball at its 40. Those are fundamentals the Dolphins simply have to recognize.

-- Guess we could blame it, like everything else, on Miami being a young team. But those are the kind of mistakes we want to see disappear sooner rather than later.

-- In the final analysis, though, this was a frustrating loss because the Dolphins put themselves in position for the big upset and weren't able to deliver. The first part alone, though, was a sign of progress.

Add us as a preferred source on Google