The Good, Bad and Ugly From Dolphins' Week 6 Loss vs. Chargers

It’s a new week, and it’s a new way to lose a football game for the Miami Dolphins. The team dropped to 1-5 after losing to the Los Angeles Chargers by giving up a 42-yard gain with less than 40 seconds left on a play that started with the quarterback wrapped up.

It’s an ugly way to lose a game in front of the home crowd, and speaking of ugly, we’re back for a weekly look at the “Good,” the “Bad,” and the “Ugly.” Ironically, the Dolphins didn’t play overly badly in Week 6.

The offense had a bunch of explosive plays, and the defense was actually OK from down to down, but had a few big lapses that led to scoring drives.

The Good: Miami’s Running Game

By far the best part of the Dolphins’ performance against the Chargers was the running game. De’Von Achane had 128 yards on 16 carries and two touchdowns.

That’s 8 yards per carry, and the team even generated a few explosives that we covered in our film review already. So, what changed this week? Honestly, not a ton from a film perspective.

We’ve been banging the drum for the Dolphins to run the ball more often all year, but it should be noted that Miami’s blocking was much better Sunday. The team ran to the right side of the line a lot more often and got some nice gains.

Larry Borom had a few good blocks, and Alec Ingold, along with Julian Hill, had solid performances on the perimeter. Aaron Brewer continues to be a star on the second level, and Achane’s speed erased several pursuit angles.

The Dolphins are sixth in EPA per rush (excluding scrambles) this season. They’re capable of running the ball when they commit to it. The team even effectively implemented pre-snap motion against the Chargers, something it had struggled with in the past.

The larger issue will be finding consistency. The Dolphins are just 19th in rushing success rate, largely due to blown blocks up front. Miami’s running game is flawed, but the positive signs far outweigh the bad at this point.

The Bad: Defensive Identity

It feels like beating a dead horse at this point, but it’s hard not to continue putting the Dolphins’ defense in this category every week when it keeps giving up so many points.

What exactly does this unit do well?

It’s 30th in total yards allowed per game, 28th in points allowed per game, 32nd in rushing yards allowed per game, 19th in passing yards per game, 21st in pressures, and 18th in sacks.

Miami’s defense has nothing to hang its hat on — no discernible strength or quirk that makes it difficult for offenses to handle. Every week is roughly the same script.

The opposing team wins the trench battle in the running game, the secondary allows easy-access throws in soft zone coverage, and the front four doesn’t generate enough pressure.

That forces defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver to blitz a lot (the Dolphins are fifth in blitzes per dropback), and quarterbacks are beating them on those reps, too. Last season, the Dolphins were at least schematically difficult to handle.

The simulated pressures and stunts upfront were working quite well. This year, it feels like every button they push is the wrong one.

On Sunday, the Dolphins allowed another backup running back, Kimani Vidal, to gash them for 124 yards, while allowing 403 yards of total offense on 6.3 yards per play.

Completion percentage is a flawed stat, but the Dolphins’ defense has held one quarterback to less than a 74% completion percentage this season. As easy as it is to blame the pass rush and run defense, the Dolphins need to get more aggressive in the secondary and with their coverage.

Sure, that introduces some personnel issues in the secondary, but you’re 1-5. Wouldn’t you rather go out swinging?

This team is not good enough at tackling or getting after the passer with four rushers to sit back in soft zones and let quarterbacks eat up easy yards.

The Ugly: Miami’s Clutch Performance

There are a million reasons the Dolphins lost to the Chargers. You could point to the start of the third quarter, which put the Dolphins in a two-score hole, and that would be fair.

But it’s hard not to look at the Dolphins’ performance on the Chargers’ final drive and not feel like they lost the game there. Miami had Justin Herbert wrapped up for a sack on two straight plays, and somehow didn’t actually get him down.

Then, you have rookie Dante Trader Jr. overrun Ladd McConkey, and boom, it’s first-and-10 for a chip-shot field goal. It’s hard to get uglier than that, but it’s been a larger trend this season.

Here’s a look at some clutch-time drives the Dolphins have had on both sides of the ball this season:

Defensive Outcomes

Up two vs. Chargers with 45 seconds left: Chargers kick a winning field goal
Down six vs. Chargers with eight minutes left: Chargers punt
Up four vs. Panthers with 10 minutes left: Panthers score go-ahead touchdown
Up four vs. Panthers with four minutes left: Panthers score winning touchdown
Down seven vs. Bills with three minutes left: Bills kick a field goal to go up 10

Offensive Outcomes

Down six vs. Chargers with six minutes left: Dolphins score go-ahead TD
Down three vs. Panthers with six minutes left: Dolphins score go-ahead TD
Down three vs. Panthers with 1:55 left: Dolphins punt
Down six vs. Bills with seven minutes left: Interception
Down three vs. Patriots with seven minutes left: Interception
Down six vs. Patriots with 1:47 left: Turnover on Downs

Notice a trend here? The Dolphins are getting out-executed in the game’s biggest moments. Blame the defense. Blame the offense. Blame whoever.

To win in the NFL, these are situations you have to win, and Miami’s performance has been nothing short of ugly.

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