Dolphins-Seahawks: The Five Biggest Plays

Breaking down the five plays that most decided the outcome in the Miami Dolphins 24-3 loss against the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field.

Seattle Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet (26) celebrates after scoring a touchdown in the first quarter against Miami Dolphins at Lumen Field. / Kevin Ng-Imagn Images

The Miami Dolphins lost for the second consecutive game Sunday, dropping a 24-3 decision against the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field.

We rank the five biggest, most important plays of the game:

1) THE LONG METCALF TOUCHDOWN

This one would hurt no matter, but the fact it came immediately after the Dolphins cut their deficit to 10-3 made it especially painful when it seemed apparent early that scoring points was going to be an issue. On this 71-yard touchdown, the Dolphins played Cover-2, with Jalen Ramsey responsible for the underneath throw and Jevon Holland having coverage over the top. The problem came when Holland bit on Metcalf's quick fake to go inside before he went up top. Once Metcalf caught Geno Smith's long pass, he wasn't going to get caught from behind.

2) THE FOURTH-AND-GOAL INCOMPLETION

As poorly as the Dolphins played the entire game, they had a chance to get within one score early in the fourth quarter when they got to a first-and-goal from the 3 — and yet they couldn't get into the end zone. After two De'Von Achane carries gained 1 yards, Tim Boyle threw two incompletions. The fourth-down throw was to Achane at the goal line, and this was a case of the receiver simply not being open. The third-down pass had a better shot, but it would have required a great catch by tight end Durham Smythe that he obviously wasn't able to make.

3) THE STUFFED THIRD-AND-1

That fourth-down incompletion at the goal line was the second of three on the day for the Dolphins, and the first came on fourth-and-3 from the Miami 47 in the third quarter. That one came after Alec Ingold was stuffed on third-and-1 on the fullback dive. Ingold lost the ball on the play, and it wasn't quite clear watching the replay whether he never had full grasp of the ball or lost it on contact. In either case, the play lost 2 yards and set up the fourth-down play, which failed when Braxton Berrios and Boyle didn't appear to be on the same page.

4) THE PENALTY PARADE

The Dolphins got into Seattle territory on six of their seven drives of the first half (including the one that started inside the 10 after the Kader Kohou interception), but then started making mistakes. One example came late in the second quarter when the Dolphins had a third-and-6 from the Seattle 44. But then Liam Eichenberg was flagged for a false start, setting a streak of four consecutive penalties that eventually made it fourth-and-39 from the Dolphins 23. The Eichenberg penalty itself wasn't necessarily huge, but it just illustrated the sloppiness of the Dolphins on this day.

5) THE ONE FLAG THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN THROWN

The tone for a bad afternoon on offense was set on the Dolphins' very first drive after things fell apart after they quickly reached the Seahawks 39-yard line, with a second-and-1 pass falling incomplete with Skylar Thompson under pressure and Jeff Wilson Jr. stuffed for no gain on a third-down run before the dubious decision to attempt a 57-yard field goal that backfired when Jason Sanders was wide left, giving Seattle the balla at its 47. But what should be mentioned is that what set up that second-and-1 was a 9-yard run by Jaylen Wright to the outside that really, based upon replays, should have included a horsecollar penalty on linebacker Tyrece Knight. That would have given the Dolphins the ball at the Seattle 24 with a first-and-10. And then who knows how that drive would have ended.