After losing to the San Diego Chargers 26-16, the Miami Dolphins began their season with four straight losses. While the Dolphins have had opportunities to win other games in 2011, in particular a one-point defeat against the Cleveland Browns, they were outmatched much of the contest against San Diego.
As they have throughout the year however, the Dolphins scored the first touchdown of the game, this time going 93 yards on their second possession of the game. It took the Dolphins 11 plays to cover almost the entire field and power back Lex Hillard capped it off by punching the ball in from one yard out. The Dolphins had three plays of 16 yards or more, making their first scoring drive the highlight of the team’s performance.
After leading 7-0, the Dolphins were outscored 23-6 going into the fourth quarter.
The Chargers first score came late in the first quarter, as the Dolphins suffered breakdown in the secondary, allowing Vincent Jackson to beat them over the top for a 55 yard strike from Pro-Bowl quarterback Philip Rivers. The teams exchanged jabs in the second quarter, with each team converting field goals. The Chargers made two to the Dolphins one, making it a 13-10 game heading into halftime.
Perhaps the most crucial drive of the contest came to start the third quarter, as Rivers led his unit down the field 63 yards in eight plays, capped by a Mike Tolbert one-yard run. The Dolphins once again relied on kicker Dan Carpenter to score the majority of their points in the second half, as he connected from 37 and 51 yards out.
As has been a theme all year for the Dolphins, they failed to maximize their scoring opportunities inside opponents territory, scoring just one touchdown in the contest. Carpenter’s 51-yard field goal made it a seven point game, 23-16, with over 11 minutes to play in the contest. But on the Chargers next drive, Rivers led his team 69 yards on 13 plays, kicking in a chip shot to give his team a two-score lead that would up — 26-16.
Perhaps the most important aspect of the game from a Miami perspective was the fact that quarterback Chad Henne was injured and missed all but the first part of the first quarter, throwing an interception in his short time in the game. Back-up Matt Moore played admirably in his absence, throwing for 176 yards with just one interception, that coming late in the game in a desperation heave.
The Dolphins offensive performance was not much different then what they’ve produced most of the year with Henne, however. The Dolphins struggled running the ball, and once again gave up a monster performance to the opposing quarterback, as Rivers posted 307 yards. Miami also struggled to contain the Chargers running game, yielding 116 yards on the ground. making matters worse, Miami was unable to create a turnover on defense.
Receiver Brandon Marshall was the star of the contest for Miami with five receptions. Safety Yeremiah Bell led the defense with an astounding 14 tackles; it’s never a good sign when a member of the secondary accounts for so many stops. But that’s what the Dolphins defense has come to through most of its first four games.
