The Miami Dolphins offense is still struggling in the red zone

Written by Matthew Cannata at 1:45 PM EST | Twitter: @PhinManiacs
On Thursday night against the Buffalo Bills, the Miami Dolphins offense took five trips to the red zone but only scored a touchdown on two of them. On the other three, they came away with two field goals and one turnover after Ryan Tannehill fumbled the ball. 

Despite their struggles, Mike Pouncey still thought they did a pretty good job and know that the time will soon come when they turn those field goals into touchdowns. 

"You just stick to the course," Mike Pouncey said. "I mean it happens in the NFL. We moved the ball up and down the field and unfortunately we got a turnover when we could’ve changed the game. But other than that our offense played really good, they didn’t stop us at all, we stopped ourselves. We had a really good week of practice, came out fresh on Thursday night and played good.”

However, Ryan Tannehill said it was in fact frustrating and knows they have to do a better job executing. 

“It was definitely frustrating but we got points on the first one [and] I fumbled on the second one. It’s unacceptable but the team and the offense especially felt confident in what we were doing; that we were able to move the ball [and] do exactly what we wanted to do. We just couldn’t hurt ourselves and have turnovers. I think that we did that in the second half. We played [cleaner] and we were able to get the ball into the end zone.”

One player who spoke out after the game was Mike Wallace, who said that if they don't score more touchdowns, they are not going to be able to compete with the powerhouses of the league such as the Denver Broncos and New England Patriots. Tannehill agreed with him and said they need to start faster. 

“Yes, we have to score more touchdowns. We’re all happy with the win but we’ve started slow several times this year and haven’t scored touchdowns. When you play good teams, you’re going to have to score points and take advantage of those trips in the red zone [by scoring] touchdowns.”

Even after ten games, Tannehill still can't put his finger as to why they are struggling at times. He thought they did well in the first quarter but due to an untimely turnover, it gives the perception that they were struggling. 

“I wouldn’t say that we struggled in the first quarter at all. That [struggles in the red zone] could be anything. I don’t think that we struggled at all. I think that we moved the ball effectively. I don’t even remember the first drive and how we got stopped but [when we] fumbled, I thought that we were moving the ball great and that [the fumble] stopped us. I wouldn’t say it’s one thing.”

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