Dolphins Suffer Eye-Opening Loss to Seahawks at Home on Sunday

By: Brandon Liguori

Call me crazy, but Brian Flores’ Miami Dolphins could really be 4-0 at the quarter point of the 2020 season. Instead, a 1-3 mark is placed next to their name. Sunday’s 31-23 loss vs. Russell Wilson and the undefeated Seattle Seahawks (4-0) at Hard Rock Stadium was yet another one of those games that had the Dolphins scratching their heads on the sidelines.

Russell Wilson, who last faced the Dolphins in Miami Gardens during his 2012 rookie season, closed with 312 passing yards, two touchdowns and a second-half interception pulled down by Xavien Howard, who notched a second-half, game-clinching interception Sept. 24 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

“We just didn’t play well enough in the fourth quarter,” Flores said. “We’ve talked about finishing games and playing well in the fourth quarter and we didn’t get it done offensively or defensively.”

You can sense Flores was furious by Sunday’s result and he has every right to be. Miami’s offensive unit produced one touchdown, a Ryan Fitzpatrick 10-yard run late in the fourth quarter to trim Seattle’s lead to 31-21. Aside from Fitzpatrick’s score?

Five Jason Sanders field goals, totaling 15 points. 15 points is simply not enough to slow down a talented team like the Seahawks, who are off to their first 4-0 start in seven years. Sanders’ third field goal of the first half shrunk Seattle’s lead to 10-9, but a quick and frustrating 4 play, 75 yard drive that took 21 seconds off the clock gave Wilson’s bunch an eight-point lead at intermission.

“Obviously for us to be 4-0, it’s a huge thing, just keep winning one game at a time and that’s what’s really important to us is making sure we’re staying on schedule, making sure we keep doing what we’re doing,” Wilson said.

One bright note to take away from Sunday’s defeat: DeVante Parker led all receivers with 110 yards on 10 receptions. Fitzpatrick targeted Parker a game-high 12 times.

Hoping to avoid their first 1-4 start since Adam Gase’s rookie season as head coach in 2016, the Dolphins will travel to Levi’s Stadium to battle Kyle Shanahan and an injury-riddled San Francisco 49ers club Oct. 11, who fell to Carson Wentz and the Philadelphia Eagles Sunday night, 25-20.

You can follow Brandon on Twitter @BrandonRLiguori