It was a difficult start to the season for the Dolphins in Indianapolis. The Colts ran 70 offensive plays compared to Miami's 46, outgaining the Dolphins 418-211 in the process. However, the most decisive stat was the turnover.
1. Losing the turnover battle
Teams that finish games plus-three in the turnover department win NFL games at a 91.4 percent rate. The Colts forced three turnovers on Sunday, finishing with two interceptions and a fumble recovery.
"In the National Football League, when you're minus-three plus a turnover on downs, you run into the kicker – across the board, that's not a formula," Head Coach Mike McDaniel said. "That formula is for failure and nothing else. And I think there was a lot of preparation for Week 1, and I don't think it looked it."
Colts safety Camryn Bynum secured the first interception of the day in the first quarter, which was followed by a fumble recovery by Indianapolis in the ensuing drive. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa threw a second interception in the beginning of the third quarter, which was picked by defensive lineman Laiatu Latu.
"You never want to look at it as, 'well, this is just Week 1.' We're going to take our loss," Tagovailoa said. "That's never how we want to look at it. And the way we lost?…There's a lot of things we need to look at. We need to look in the mirror. We need to continue to hold each other accountable for what it is. I would definitely say it starts with me, and I think as a team collectively, this was something we were trying to avoid."
2. Racking up the tackles
Linebackers Jordyn Brooks and Tyrel Dodson combined for 27 total tackles in the game. Brooks' 14 tackles were the most he's had since he was a member of the Seahawks (November 2022). It's just the second time two Dolphins had two players with at least 13 tackles since 2000 (2023 opener in Los Angeles).
3. On to Week 2
Week 1 in the NFL can be fickle. New teams, new systems and hypotheticals extracted from piecing together various film. The unknown creates challenges. For the Dolphins, learning from this game and the coinciding response is more important than the result itself.
"The way we lost probably is an overall better way to learn an absolute lesson that never changes," McDaniel said. "I'm very motivated to get together with the team, watch the tape and keep it real and get ready for our next opponent – home game against the New England Patriots. They're not going to feel sorry for us in the least, nor should they."
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