Dolphins-Packers Five Biggest Storylines ... And How They Played Out

The Miami Dolphins dropped to 8-7 on the season with their 26-20 loss against the Green Bay Packers at Hard Rock Stadium

The Miami Dolphins dropped to 8-7 on the season when they lost, 26-20, against the Buffalo Bills at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Ahead of the matchup, we offered our weekly ranking and analysis of the five biggest storylines, and now it's time to revisit those to see how they played out:

1. Home Sweet Home

BEFORE THE GAME: If it seems like it's been forever like the Dolphins have played at Hard Rock Stadium, well, it's because it's been a while. While the opposition has had something to do with it, it's pretty obvious that they have played much better football at home than on the road this season. The Dolphins are 11-1 in their past 12 games at home, and home-field advantage undeniably will be a factor in this game.

DURING THE GAME: The Dolphins didn't get typical South Florida weather for this game, with the 49-degree game-time temperature making it the coldest home game since 1989. But the weather didn't play a role in this game, nor did the being back at home really help the Dolphins. With the exception of the Minnesota game, when the Dolphins had to make an in-game QB change and Terron Armstead sat out with his toe injury, the offense had played mistake-free football at home with only one turnover in six games. They matched that in one ugly performance and, not surprisingly, the end result was the same as the Minnesota game.

2. Tua vs. Rodgers

BEFORE THE GAME: This matchup will feature an interesting QB matchup between future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers and breakout star Tua Tagovailoa. The Dolphins are 0-2 against Rodgers, losing in 2014 and 2018, but this also is the best team they have had going against him. And Tua obviously is a big part of that, and he figures to play a key role if the Dolphins are going to defeat Rodgers for the first time.

DURING THE GAME: While there were Rodgers flashes in the game — notably the off-balance long throw to tight end Marcedes Lewis that probably would have been overruled had it been challenged — he certainly wasn't the reason the Packers won the game. Unfortunately, a better argument could be made that Tua was the biggest deciding factor in the outcome, but not in a good way for Miami.

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3. X on the Watson Watch

BEFORE THE GAME: A big reason for the Packers' offensive resurgence in recent weeks has been the performance of rookie second-round pick Christian Watson, the wide receiver from North Dakota State who has eight touchdowns in the past five games. Xavien Howard was a surprise Pro Bowl selection this week, but this would be a good game to remind everyone why he got the reputation that earned him that Pro Bowl rep by helping shut down Watson.

DURING THE GAME: Watson ended up playing only 25 snaps before he had to leave the game with a hip injury and caught six passes, though the only ones of consequence were a 20-yard pick-up and a 10-yard catch on fourth down when he absorbed a hit from Eric Rowe to hang on to the ball. Howard had a solid game in coverage and a tackle for loss on a running play, but his day was marred by his inability to come down with an interception in Packers territory with the Dolphins leading 20-10 after jumping in front of intended receiver Allen Lazard. It was the type of catch that Howard routinely has made throughout his career.

4. Looking for a Raheem Repeat

BEFORE THE GAME: The Dolphins got a huge performance from Raheem Mostert against the Bills last Saturday night, highlighted by a 67-yard run in the first quarter, and it's a favorable matchup for the Dolphins running game against a Green Bay defense that ranked 29th in the league in rushing yards allowed. Keeping Rodgers on the sideline certainly is one way to help minimize the damage he can do.

DURING THE GAME: The running game again was effective, and this time Mostert got help from Jeff Wilson Jr. on his return from a hip injury. Mostert and Wilson combined to average 4.8 yards per carry, but the Dolphins again didn't focus on the running game and they teamed for 17 rushing attempts so the final rushing total was under 100 yards. There also was no busted-out run like the 67-yarder, with the long for Mostert being 17 yards and for Wilson 12 yards.

5. The Dolphins on Third-and-Short

BEFORE THE GAME: While it's fair to give a tip of the hat to Josh Allen for the 32-29 loss at Buffalo, it's probably more accurate to say the Dolphins missed an opportunity to complete their season sweep of the Bills because they were so bad in third-and-short situations. The Dolphins offense went 1-for-6 on third-and-3 or shorter, while Buffalo was 5-for-6 with the one miss coming at the end of the game when Allen kneeled right before the game-winning field goal. It's pretty obvious to suggest the Dolphins will need to do much better against Green Bay.

DURING THE GAME: Neither team did well on third team, with the Packers' 2-for-14 more than twice as bad as the Dolphins' 2-for-6 and part of that was that there were very few third-and-short conversion attempts. The Packers had one third-and-1, one third-and-2 and one third-and-3, while the Dolphins had only one third-and-3. That third-down attempt came on the team's first drive and Tua threw a deep pass down the right sideline that fell incomplete. So while we certainly would suggest this is a low-percentage play, it's not like it impacted the game the way the third-and-short failures did against Buffalo.

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