I felt good about the Miami Dolphins at halftime against the Indianapolis Colts. They led 10-3 and played well in the first half. They ran the ball, and for the most part, the defense did a good job against the Colts and their young quarterback, Anthony Richardson. The Dolphins got the ball with the lead to start the second half, and this was with Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill not getting a target.
Then, in the second half, Dolphins running back Raheem Mostert fumbled the ball in their territory, and the Colts got a touchdown on the short field. Then, the Dolphins lost quarterback Tyler Huntley to injury but got a drive in the red zone
They were running the ball well with rookie Jaylen Wright, and after Tim Boyle hit Jonnu Smith on a big 3rd down conversion, they got them in the red zone. Head coach Mike McDaniel calls for the fullback Alec Ingold to carry the ball, not his rookie running back, Wright. Ingold fumbles the ball, and the Colts get it. Why? Why give it to your fullback when your rookie running back had some good runs?
The Colts went downfield for a field goal. Then the Dolphins got a drive going, and on 3rd and 1, once again, they gave to Ingold for no gain. The Dolphins missed a 54-yard field goal, and the game was basically over. I’m not going to go crazy on kicker Jason Sanders. That was a long kick.
I will go crazy on McDaniel for again getting away from a player who is having success running the ball. If he’s not passing, then he’s giving it to his fullback for no reason. Every team has seen them run the FB dive play in short yardage. Not only would I have given it to any of the other running backs, but I’m going for it on 4th down if they don’t make it. McDaniel should have kept going with the hot hand but, as always, gets away from it.