The Dolphins faced yet another unbeaten team in Week 4, and for a second straight week, Miami took its opponent to the wire in a fourth-quarter battle. The Vikings remained unbeaten with a 15-10 victory in a game where the ball bounced Minnesota's way on several occasions. The young Dolphins, led by a record-setting rookie linebacker, are still learning how to close out games.
1. Game of inches
There are countless adages about the thin line between victory and defeat. For the Dolphins in Week 4, it's fair to wonder what could have been.
Running back Ollie Gordon II nearly added another 50-plus yards and a second touchdown to his first career 100-yard performance. He burst through another big lane opened by Miami's offensive line, tripped and got back to his feet to outrun the defense. However, a Vikings defender scraped him with a fingernail while he was on the ground, ending the play.
A roughing-the-punter penalty on Bradley Pinion was overturned when replay assist determined a Vikings defender put the very edge of his glove on the football, negating the foul and giving possession back to the Vikings.
The most tangible near miss came on what would have been Miami's most exciting play of the season thus far. Quarterback Malik Willis escaped pressure, rolled to his right and fired a strike to wide receiver Chris Bell, who outraced the Minnesota defense for a 68-yard touchdown that would have put Miami ahead 7-6 with a successful point-after try.
Replay showed the edge of Bell's cleat touching the white stripe, triggering an illegal touching infraction and forcing the Dolphins to punt.
"We knew it was going to be a defensive battle, how I described it," Head Coach Jeff Hafley said. "I thought our guys fought their butts off. I thought we were competitive. I thought we were physical. I thought we were tough. Maybe one more stop, one more play on offense, clean up some things, some penalties that we need to look at. But just disappointing."
2. Record book Rodriguez
The Dolphins kept the Vikings out of the end zone Sunday, allowing only five field goals on 10 possessions. It marked the fourth consecutive game in which Miami held its opponent below 4.0 yards per carry, with Minnesota averaging just 3.9.
At the center of it all was rookie inside linebacker Jacob Rodriguez, who finished with 18 tackles, the most by a Dolphins rookie since tackles became an official statistic in 1994. Rodriguez's 46 tackles this season rank second in the NFL, just one behind Denver's Alex Singleton.
"He just keeps getting better and better, but it doesn't surprise me because it's the way he works and prepares, which we talked about last week," Hafley said. "I thought a lot of guys stepped up on defense today, older guys, younger guys. In general, those guys played hard, they all played hard. I wish we could have gotten one more stop there at the end, because we knew that's what it was going to take."
Defensive lineman Zach Sieler had a pair of sacks, while edges Chop Robinson and Josh Uche both dumped Minnesota quarterback Kyler Murray once. Robinson posted a career-high eight quarterback pressures in the game.
3. Learning how to win
Miami had the football in a one-score game in the fourth quarter for the second straight week. In a game of inches, the Dolphins are getting closer but remain just a couple of plays away from securing that coveted first win. And the path to that win is in the details.
"To come on the road, in my opinion, in one of the hardest places to play in this league. It's the first time we've really got to experience an environment like this, so to come together with the group that we had and fight them until the end, I do think there's improvement," Hafley said. "I do think there's growth. I think there's growth back-to-back weeks and we'll get there. And don't get me wrong, guys, I'm not happy. I want to win the game and I think you can sense that. Am I proud in certain aspects? Yeah. Am I disappointed? For sure. Do I need to do better? Yeah. Do we all? For sure. We had a chance to win the game in the fourth quarter, and that needs to be the next step."
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