Bugle Miami

Winners and losers from Dolphins difficult loss to Bucs in Week 5

The Miami Dolphins weren’t able to slow down the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ high-powered offense in Week 5, as they were defeated 45-17 at Raymond James Stadium.

Brian Flores’ defense only held Tom Brady and his offense to a punt just once, as they were able to put up touchdowns over and over again.

Miami’s offense, led by Jacoby Brissett, actually wasn’t terrible but they weren’t able to sustain long drives and were hampered by two turnovers.

Now, sitting at 1-4, the Dolphins will have to really work hard the rest of the season if they want to finish the year with a respectable record.

Here are the winners and losers from Week 5.

LOSER: CB Xavien Howard

Howard was assigned the difficult task of covering Antonio Brown in this game. Brown’s route-running and quickness make him one of the toughest guys to cover in the league.

The cornerback was burnt by Brown for two touchdowns, one of which went for 62 yards.

This will probably be a game he’ll want to forget.

WINNER: RB Myles Gaskin

There was very clearly a concerted effort to get the ball in the hands of the running back. With Tampa Bay possessing one of the best run-stopping defenses in the league, most of Gaskin’s touches came through the air.

Gaskin totaled 10 receptions for 74 yards and two touchdowns by the end of the game.

Without him, this game would’ve looked even worse than it did.

LOSER: LB Jerome Baker

Baker has been one of the leaders of Miami’s defense over the past few seasons, but he did not have a great game in Week 5.

On Tampa Bay’s first scoring drive, Baker was in coverage on Giovani Bernard who easily moved past him and into the end zone for their first touchdown of the game.

Then, near the end of the second quarter, Baker was lined up against Leonard Fournette and completely lost him. Before the snap, Fournette went in motion, and Baker was lagging behind him. Brady recognized this and hit his back in the flat who then shook Baker out of his shoes for a first down.

WINNER: QB Jacoby Brissett

In a game where there was such a large margin of victory, it’s not often you’d see the losing quarterback be listed as a positive. However, Brissett was not the reason that this team lost this game.

Brissett was quick in his decision-making, getting the ball out within the first couple of seconds. Despite being hurt early on, he stayed in and gave the team the effort they needed.

It might not have resulted in a win, but Brissett deserves credit for his performance and his mentality.

LOSER: WR Jaylen Waddle

Without Will Fuller or DeVante Parker, it was expected that Jaylen Waddle was going to be a big part of the offense. He had a decent number of targets, but he was only able to bring in two receptions for 31 yards.

In the fourth quarter, he let a ball go right through his hands and fell into the possession of Tampa Bay’s Jamal Dean.

A first-round pick has to be able to get open more often and catch the balls thrown to him, especially against this secondary.

WINNER: Co-OC George Godsey

On the broadcast, Tony Romo mentioned that George Godsey was calling plays directly into Jacoby Brissett. He noted that this was a different course of action for the Dolphins.

Miami’s offense may have only put up 17 points in this game, but the play-calling didn’t seem to be the issue. They smartly stayed away from the run, particularly on early downs.

If they can get Tua Tagovailoa and Parker back, it would be interesting to see what that offense looks like.

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