Battered Dolphins Fall to Vikings

The already short-handed Miami Dolphins suffered more injuries in their Week 6 home loss against the Minnesota Vikings

First-year Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel likes to talk about adversity creating opportunity, and his team put itself in a position to overcome a whole lot of it against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.

But the dream turned into a nightmare with a game-changing play followed by another just seconds later.

The end result was a 24-16 loss at Hard Rock Stadium that dropped the Dolphins to 3-3 on the season and made their 3-0 start even more of a distant memory.

BRIDGEWATER ALMOST HELPS PULL OFF COMEBACK

Teddy Bridgewater didn't start because he only got out of the concussion protocol Saturday, came off the bench when rookie starter Skylar Thompson left the game with a thumb injury and overcame some rough moments to put the Dolphins in position to win after they trailed 16-3.

But down 16-10, Jaylen Waddle fumble after a catch that would have given the Dolphins inside the Minnesota 30-yard line, the Vikings recovered and two plays later Miami native Dalvin Cook broke free for a 53-yard touchdown that made it 24-10 following a two-point conversion.

Bridgewater later led an 83-yard touchdown drive that he capped with a second touchdown pass to tight end Mike Gesicki (the Dolphins failed on a two-point conversion attempt), but the Vikings clinched the victory by recovering the ensuing onside kick.

Bridgewater finished the game 23-for-34 for 329 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions for a 93.9 passer rating.

Thompson's first NFL start was cut short when he had to leave the game in the second quarter after sustained a thumb injury when his right hand hit a Minnesota helmet after he released a pass.

Of course, Thompson was in the lineup because Tua Tagovailoa and Bridgewater didn't clear the concussion protocol until Saturday.

Making things worse, the Dolphins also had to play without left tackle Terron Armstead, the one dependable starter on the offensive line.

The Dolphins lost additional players to injuries — cornerback Nik Needham, edge defender Trey Flowers and cornerback Keion Crossen.

The ankle injury to Needham looks particularly alarming considering he had to be carted off the field after being injured while covering Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen.

Thompson didn't produce any points during his time in the game, but he didn't get a lot of help after two drives that put the Dolphins in field goal range.

One of those drives ended with a third-down sack, one of six allowed by the Dolphins in the game. The other was derailed by a crazy sequence where the Dolphins committed five penalties in seven plays — two of which negated long completions.

While the Dolphins defense gave up some big plays, including the Cook touchdown run and a 47-yard completion from Kirk Cousins to Justin Jefferson after he ran a rub route that gave him separation from Xavien Howard, it was one of their best performances of the season.

But the defensive effort, which included forcing four three-and-outs to start the game, did not include a takeaway.

On the flip side, the Dolphins committed three turnovers — the Waddle fumble and two interceptions by Bridgewater.

The first interception came at the end of the first half with the Dolphins trailing 7-3 when McDaniel decided to be aggressive and go for a score despite starting the drive at the 11-yard line with only 28 seconds left.

The pick by safety Harrison Smith — he also forced the Waddle fumble — came after Waddle bobbled Bridgewater's pass and set up a field goal at the end of the half.

Even despite that negative momentum and all the injuries and penalties they had to overcome, the Dolphins still had a chance to pull out a late victory, just like they did the previous two games against the Bengals and the Jets.

But after being able to come up with the key plays at key moments during that great 3-0 start, those plays are nowhere to be found now and the Dolphins find themselves at .500 as a result.