21-point Dallas second half sinks Miami

The Miami Dolphins suffered another loss, dropping Sunday’s game on the road against the Dallas Cowboys 31-6. The Cowboys held just a 10-6 halftime lead, but their 21-point unanswered second half sank the Dolphins. Miami falls to 0-3 on the season under first-year head coach Brian Flores, while Dallas stays undefeated and climbs to 3-0.

“I think we are all like a really determined group of guys that (are) really prideful and just want to put a good product of football on the field, something that we feel proud about and I think we are getting there,” Dolphins quarterback Josh Rosen said. 

What worked for Miami

Miami didn’t show much in today’s contest only managing six points, but the Dolphins do have something to look at going forward: the play Rosen. While his numbers were nowhere near a standout performance, Rosen did finish the day going 18-for-39 for 200 yards. He had no touchdowns, although should have, as numerous drops plagued the team again this week. Rosen also did not throw an interception; this marks the first time in three games to start the season that Miami did not throw a INT. He finished with a 61.9 passer rating. 

“I thought we got off to a pretty good start and started to taper a little bit. I don’t know, I couldn’t think of a particular moment in the game (that changed it), some good (plays), some bad (plays). I’d say (we were) right in the middle,” Rosen said.

Another good note to take away from the game is the performance of wideout Preston Williams who finished with four receptions for sixty eight yards, and was the team’s leading receiver. This marks the second week in a row that the rookie wide receiver has lead the team in receiving. 

“I thought Josh made some good throws early. Started off with the long ball to DeVante (Parker). That’s a good defense,” Flores said. “I thought he was tough. Took a couple of hits. Stood in the pocket. Gave us some opportunities on some throws. The drops didn’t help him. That would have helped us as a team.  We just didn’t get it done but overall, I thought he played alright.”

Additionally, defensive end Taco Charlton, who was claimed off of waivers from Dallas just a few days ago, recorded a sack in his Dolphins debut. 

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What didn’t work for Miami

The biggest cause for concern for the Dolphins right now is their inability to run the football. With the rumors swirling around about the team possibly shopping back Kenyan Drake, he didn’t help his cause Sunday after fumbling the ball on the Cowboys’ five-yard-line with less than 30 seconds remaining in the half. Miami was set up to take the 13-10 halftime lead had it been able to punch it in, but instead, Drake cost the team with a disappointing fumble. 

“The ball just came out of my hand. It was mostly more about securing the ball in that situation. I tried to spin out and the ball just flipped out of my hand. I’m not going to change the way I play…but in that situation I have to understand that ball security is the most important thing,” Drake said.

The Dolphins as a whole finished with seventy two yards on twenty four attempts, split up between four players. Despite the fumble, Drake finished as the leading rusher carrying the ball 12 times for 38 yards. Another reason to be concerned with the Dolphins as a unit is its defense. They currently hold a -117 point differential through three games, and  is the largest point differential through three games in NFL history since 1950.

What worked for Dallas

Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott continued to show the league why he should become the next highest paid QB after his performance Sunday. He went 19-for-32 for 246 yards, three TDs and one INT. Two of his scores went to WR Amari Cooper and he rushed for the other. His passer rating closed in on 100, as he finished with a 91.4. 

The running game also showed its dominance again with Ezekiel Elliott leading the way with 19 carries for 125 yards. Backup Tony Pollard also eclipsed the 100 yard mark, as he finished with 103 yards and a TD on 13 carries. The running game for Dallas finished with a total of 34 attempts and 235 yards. 

Looking Ahead

Starting 0-3 is not the best way to go, but the Dolphins will have to look past this game and look ahead to next week when they take on the 1-2 Los Angeles Chargers on home turf. LA is surprisingly under .500 to begin the year, partly due to injuries. Miami will look to capitalize on the Chargers’ injury bug and a long cross-country road trip for them, hopefully picking up its first win of the season before it heads into its bye week for week five.

– Carl Mahler is a Sports Contributor for Full Press Coverage Miami Dolphins. Like and follow on Follow @C3Mahler Follow @FPC_Dolphins and Facebook.