Dolphins-Seahawks Week 3 Halftime Observations

Mistakes, penalties, questionable decisions stood out in a forgettable first half

Seattle Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet (26) rushes against the Miami Dolphins during the first quarter at Lumen Field. / Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

What stood out in the first half of the Miami Dolphins' Week 3 game against the Seattle Seahawks:

We'll start with the inactive list, which was highlighted again by running back Raheem Mostert, who is out with a chest injury. Also missing the game with an injury was rookie wide receiver Malik Washington, out with a quad injury.

Also inactive were CB Ethan Bonner, LB Channing Tindall, LB Mohamed Kamara and OL Andrew Meyer.

Tyler Huntley was designated as the emergency third quarterback, meaning that Tim Boyle — signed to the 53-man roster off the practice squad Saturday — was the backup to Skylar Thompson, with Tua Tagovailoa on injured reserve.

FIRST QUARTER

The Dolphins started on defense after winning the toss and deferring, and Seattle got the ball at its 35 to start after Dee Williams decided to return the kick after fielding it 4 yards into the end zone.

The Seahawks quickly moved into Dolphins territory with an 18-yard completion from Geno Smith to wide receiver Tyler Lockett against zone coverage when Smith had all day to throw.

Defensive tackle Da'Shawn Hand then made two nice plays to help stop the drive. On the first, he fended off a block from former Dolphins center Connor Williams and then the guard to stop Zach Charbonnet for no gain, then easily beat guard Anthony Bradford to drop Smith for a sack.

The Dolphins started their first drive trailing 3-0 and it started off well enough, with Thompson hitting De'Von Achane down the seam for a 22-yard gain after Achane lined up as a slot receiver.

On the next play, Jaylen Wright gained 9 yards after taking a pitch, though the officials missed what looked like a blatant horsecollar tackle infraction. That might not have seemed like a big deal at the time, but it became a very big deal.

The Dolphins decided to throw on second-and-1, which is not a bad move because it's almost a free down, but Julian Hill's missed block brought pressure on Thompson and his pass was batted. Then after Jeff Wilson Jr. was stuffed for no gain on third-and-1, Mike McDaniel made the unusual decision of attempting a 57-yard field goal instead of going for the first down and the move backfired when Sanders missed wide left.

This was a flat-out bad decision by McDaniel, from this end, because Sanders really has struggled from long distance, McDaniel always has been aggressive, and a miss gave the Seahawks the ball at their 47 after the miss.

It didn't take the Seahawks long to move within the shadow of the Dolphins end zone, thanks in large part to a 22-yard completion to DK Metcalf after Smith was scrambling. Kendall Fuller had great coverage on the play but never turned around.

The Dolphins got into Seattle territory on their second drive, but negative plays again surfaced. There was a 4-yard loss by Achane on a second-and-1 run from the Seattle 43 and then Thompson dropped the snap on third-and-5 and Dramont Jones got by Terron Armstead to sack him.

The Dolphins got the big break that could help provide a spark with Kader Kohou's interception after Emmanuel Ogbah pressured Smith in the end zone and the Dolphins had a first-and-goal from the 6.

This turned into disappointment, though, because the drive fizzled after it started with an illegal motion penalty on Julian Hill, who had a very, very rough first half.

After the Dolphins had to settle for a field goal to cut their deficit to 10-3, Seattle struck quickly on the next drive when safety Jevon Holland bit hard when Metcalf made a quick move toward the middle before turning upfield, the result being an easy 71-yard touchdown for the Seahawks.

SECOND QUARTER

The next Miami drive began after a 31-yard kickoff return by Braxton Berrios and started with an 11-yard completion to Jaylen Waddle over the middle.

But the drive went south after that, starting with a 1-yard loss on a run when fullback Alec Ingold never started the play because he thought the officials were stopping it. That was followed with two plays when Thompson got pressure quickly and ended in incompletion.

Seattle used completions of 16 and 15 yards on their next drive and got to the Miami 36 before a holding penalty helped stall its drive before Jason Myers was wide left on a 53-yard field goal attempt, giving the Dolphins good field position (their 43) on their next drive.

The drive started off well enough with runs of 8 yards by Jaylen Wright and 13 yards by De'Von Achane, but the Dolphins went to pass and it went downhill.

On first-and-10 from the Seattle 36, Durham Smythe was beaten at the line by LB Derick Hall and Robert Jones couldn't get to him quickly enough to prevent an 8-yard sack. After a short completion to Waddle, Tyreek Hill dropped the pass on a wide receiver screen that likely wouldn't have converted a third-and-13.

On fourth-and-13 from the 39, McDaniel punted this time, and Jake Bailey put it in the end zone for a net punt of only 19 yards.

After a 17-yard completion, the defense stopped the Seattle drive, thanks to a sack by Zach Sieler who got around left tackle Charles Cross and a third-down blitz.

The Dolphins again got good field position for their next drive after Braxton Berrios returned a 61-yard punt for 44 yards.

That made no difference, however, because the drive was fizzled after a third-and-6 became a fourth-and-39 following a litany of penalties, including a third on Julian Hill and a third and fourth on the special teams.

Seattle's final drive of the half featured a big-time tackle by Jalen Ramsey after a swing pass to Lockett — while he was being blocked.

-- That drive also featured two penalties (holding, false start) on former Dolphins center Connor Williams.

-- The Dolphins got the ball back at their 23 for one last first-half drive, but not before they had to use all their timeouts.

-- After a 17-yard completion to Tyreek Hill, his first catch of the half, the drive bogged down until an illegal contact gave Miami a final untimed play from the Seattle 49. The half ended — maybe fittingly enough — with Thompson nailed from behind while taking forever to throw the ball when there was no time left.

-- It was a fitting and ugly ending to an ugly first half.