Week 5 Result: Won at New England 15-10

One ugly win over an even uglier New England Patriots team is not going to save Miami’s season. And the Dolphins made every effort to lose Sunday, whether it was a blocked punt, two missed field goals, a bad snap that knocked Miami out of field-goal range or two turnovers and six penalties.

Against even an average team, that would have gotten Miami beat. But to their credit, the Dolphins gutted it out—and now they will hit the bye week just one back of the Buffalo Bills in the AFC East.

Fullback Alec Ingold, who scored Miami’s only touchdown, told reporters after the win that the Dolphins are well aware that Sunday’s spotty effort won’t be good enough two weeks from now against the Indianapolis Colts.

“Some of the things that we’re shooting ourselves in the foot with right now, it was a full team win to be able to overcome those issues,” Ingold said. “We know that that’s not acceptable. It’s not up to the standard. We all know we need to tighten that up.”

The Dolphins got the ground game going Sunday, and head coach Mike McDaniel told the media that could be a recipe for success moving forward.

“I think we had been disappointed with what we’ve produced on the ground just in general,” McDaniel said postgame. “So, it was a huge point of emphasis to really hone in on our fundamentals and the technique. To the credit of the offensive line, they punched some holes. I think the running back room was ready to put the team on their back, so to speak.”

The question now is whether De’Von Achane (who suffered a concussion Sunday) will be out there in Week 7 and (more importantly) whether Tua Tagovailoa will be under center when he’s eligible to return from injured reserve in Week 8.

“The Dolphins’ passing game is limited without quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, but while he’s out, the offense may be able to muster up enough production on the ground to eke out wins,” Moton said. “Miami rushed for 193 yards in a victory over New England. Rookie Jaylen Wright led the way with 86 yards. With an aging Raheem Mostert and De’Von Achane (concussion) banged up, Wright may be the key to the Dolphins’ ground attack. Still, Miami is a team that should be ranked outside the top 20 until Tagovailoa returns to action.”