Dolphins-Titans Week 4 Instant Takeaways

The Miami Dolphins' offensive struggles continued in their third consecutive loss.

Tennessee Titans running back Tyjae Spears (2) runs with the football against the Miami Dolphins during the second quarter at Hard Rock Stadium. / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

What stood out in the first half of the Miami Dolphins Week 4 game against the Tennessee Titans?

We'll start with the inactive list, highlighted again by five injured players — tackle Terron Armstead, running back Raheem Mostert, cornerback Kendall Fuller, linebacker David Long Jr. and Skylar Thompson serving as the emergency quarterback.

Also inactive was rookie linebacker Mohamed Kamara, the fifth-round pick from Colorado State.

Rookies Malik Washington and Andrew Meyer were active for the first time and in line to make their NFL debut, while CB Ethan Bonner and LB Channing Tindall were active for the first time this season.

On Monday afternoon, Dee Eskridge was elevated from the practice squad to join Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, Braxton Berrios, and Washington on the wide receiver corps.

FIRST QUARTER

The Dolphins started on defense for a second consecutive game after winning the toss and deferring, and Tennessee began its first drive at its 23.

The Dolphins looked like they had a three-and-out right off the bat, but Jaelan Phillips was flagged for roughing the passer after he fell going around right tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere but continued his roll into the legs of Levis.

Linebacker Jordyn Brooks looked like he was shot out of a cannon on a pitch to Tony Pollard. He brought him down after Emmanuel Ogbah kept him inside by setting the edge, resulting in a 2-yard loss.

Jalen Ramsey traveled with Calvin Ridley on that third-down penalty on Phillips.

DeAndre Hopkins took advantage of a soft zone to catch a 16-yard pass from Levis as the Titans entered Dolphins territory.

On a second-and-9 from the Miami 43, Levis hurried a throw when Ramsey blitzed from the slot, and Ogbah made an easy pick after dropping into coverage, squeezing the ball between his legs after failing to make the catch cleanly.

Great start for the Dolphins offense with an easy over-the-middle completion to Jaylen Waddle for 14 yards and a 16-yard run by Tyreek Hill on a jet sweep.

A sloppy play all around by Hill ended the drive in Titans territory, though, after he failed to catch a swing pass from Tyler Huntley that was a lateral. Worse, Hill never tried to fall on the loose ball, and it was an easy recovery for Tennessee.

After the Dolphins' defense got a three-and-out thanks to what looked like a favorable spot on Will Levis' third-down scramble, the Dolphins' offense had a three-and-out of its own, and it wasn't pretty.

On a third-and-6, two Tennessee rushers came on from the left side, and Austin Jackson took the inside rusher, leaving Harold Landry with a free run at Huntley for the very easy sack.

The following Tennessee series featured two tackles for loss on running plays, one each by Ogbah (who had himself a great first quarter) and Calais Campbell.

With Mason Rudolph at quarterback after Levis injured his right shoulder on his scramble on the previous drive, Tennessee got into field goal range thanks to a 13-yard completion before the first quarter ended with the Titans facing a third-and-6 from the Miami 30.

SECOND QUARTER

Storm Duck stopped the drive with a great play when he fought off the block of WR Treylon Burks to drop running back Tyjae Spears for a 5-yard loss before Nick Foik made a 53-yard field goal to give Tennesee a 3-0 lead.

The Dolphins got into Tennessee territory on their next drive thanks to a roughing-the-passer penalty on Arden Key (also for hitting the QB low), but that came after tight end Julian Hill was bowled over by Key on his way to Huntley.

The drive ended on a fourth-and-1 from the Titans 46 when Tyreek Hill ran a jet sweep but never could turn the corner before safety Quandre Diggs tackled him out of bounds for a 1-yard loss, continuing the Dolphins' short-yardage issues.

Tennessee moved quickly into field goal range thanks to four consecutive runs that gained 24 yards, and it looked like it could get worse when Tyjae Spears got through to the Miami 2-yard line, but the Dolphins got bailed out by a dubious holding penalty. The Titans settled for a field goal and a 6-3 lead.

The Dolphins finally got something going on their next drive, starting with cornerback L'Jarius Sneed giving them a free 15 yards by knocking the ball out of Jaylen Wright's hands after he tackled him out of bounds.

Tyler Huntley's mobility came into play when he converted a third-and-11 with a 12-yard run on a quarterback draw.

The drive stalled after Huntley's completion to Jaylen Waddle on third-and-6, gained only 4 yards, and Jason Sanders then made it 6-3 with a 44-yard field goal.

The Dolphins' defense got a stop on the next drive after it reached Miami territory, thanks to Jaelan Phillips batting down Rudolph's pass at the line on third-and-2.

It was yet another forgettable drive for the Dolphins offense, ending in a 5-yard completion to De'Von Achane on third-and-9 on a quick throw at the line.

After the defense held, there was a weird play in which Calais Campbell appeared to get a hand on a punt. Then Duke Riley tried to field it downfield but couldn't control it, and Tennessee recovered. The play was reviewed to see whether a Titans player touched the ball first, which would end the play, and replay overturned the turnover.

And, with that, the Dolphins avoided a potential problem.

The Dolphins were then called for an illegal formation on a play in which Aaron Brewer snapped the ball from shotgun before Huntley was ready, negating a big loss.

Boos were coming from Hard Rock Stadium when Huntley handed off on third-and-8 on the Dolphins' final offensive play of the half.

And then came a bad punt by Jake Bailey, a 26-yard completion down the middle to Tyler Boyd that allowed the Titans to tack on a 47-yard field goal on the last play of a really ugly first half for Miami.

THIRD QUARTER

The Dolphins got the ball to start the second half but quickly went three-and-out, with Huntley swarmed by pressure on third-and-9 after Waddle dropped a completion that would have been good for a first down on the previous play.

Campbell came up with another nice play when his penetration led to Zach Sieler stopping Tony Pollard for no gain before Jordyn Brooks came in on a double blitz with a free run at Rudolph for the third-down sack.

Braxton Berrios then gave the Dolphins a spark with a 27-yard punt return to set up the Dolphins at the Tennessee 48 to start their next drive.

The drive went nowhere, though a defensive holding penalty was enough to put Jason Sanders in position to kick a 56-yard field goal.

The Dolphins went conservative on third-and-11, with Huntley running the ball on the option.

The Dolphins had a chance at a defensive three-and-out, but Kader Kohou was called for a 15-yard DPI against DeAndre Hopkins on third down, the result of not turning around when the ball arrived, something that's been a problem for him since he entered the NFL.

Two plays later came the big play that's been hurting the Dolphins' defense every game, this time a 41-yard run by Tony Pollard with some good blocking up front.

That set up a 7-yard touchdown run when Tyjae Spears took the snap from the Wildcat formation and juked Zach Sieler with a great move to make the score 16-6.

The Dolphins' next series was another failure, starting with Huntley getting sacked on first down by Sebastian Joseph.

Huntley had a shot at a big play on third-and-17 when Tyreek Hill got behind cornerback L'Jarius Sneed, but Huntley overshot him.

A 15-yard penalty on Siran Neal on the ensuing punt when he ran out of bounds and failed to make an immediate effort to get back into the field of play set up Tennessee for yet another Nick Folk field goal, making it 19-6.

The third quarter ended with Huntley completing a 9-yard pass to Malik Washington for the rookie's first NFL catch.

One lowlight of this bad third quarter was Jaelan Phillips being ruled out with a knee injury.

FOURTH QUARTER

More misery for the offense, which can't run the ball, this time with Achane dropped for a 1-yard loss on fourth-and-1 from the Miami 39.

Ogbah, who's had a strong night, catches a tough break when his hand gets into Tyjae Spears's facemask.

The Dolphins defense holds after Tennessee gets a first-and-goal, but Folk's fifth field goal makes it 22-6.

The Dolphins finally got back into the end zone — for the first time since the third quarter of the Buffalo game in Week 2 — thanks to a 70-yard touchdown drive, but it took 7:09 off the clock and left Miami down two scores when the two-point conversion failed.

The Dolphins overcame three illegal shift penalties on the drive and had a fourth-and-12 conversion when Huntley hit Waddle on a short crosser for 18 yards.

The drive also featured a 20-yard run by Jaylen Wright and a 21-yard scramble by Huntley.

Huntley scored the touchdown on a 1-yard QB draw.

The Dolphins' slim chances of pulling off a comeback ended when Tyler Boyd recovered Jason Sanders' onside kick attempt — under the new rules when the onside kick has to be declared.

The Dolphins gave up a safety when they got the ball back when Huntley was called for intentional grounding while in the end zone.

That made the score 24-12, and the Dolphins declared their intention for another onside kick. This one, again, was weird because punter Jake Bailey's onside punt landed beyond the setup zone, giving the Titans the ball at the Miami 10-yard line.

The Titans just ran the ball after taking over but still got a second touchdown when Tony Pollard outran the defense around the corner on fourth-and-goal to make it 31-12.

And that was the final score as the Dolphins suffered their consecutive loss.