The Good

Ryan Tannehill continues to establish himself as the future at quarterback for the Dolphins. Tannehill finished the day 22 of 38 for 290 yards and 1 TD. He basically carried the team on a day when the defense didn't show up.

Brian Hartline showed up with 8 catches for 107 yards.

Davone Bess chipped in 6 catches for 67 yards.

The Bad

The entire defense, starting with the secondary and the pass rush and even at times the run defense, abandoned the Dolphins today. Andrew Luck broke a rookie passing record by throwing for 433 yards. The Colts were 13 of 19 on third down and held onto the ball for 34:54. The Dolphins had several chances to intercept Luck, but these were dropped. Shades of previous seasons.

A special recognition goes out to Sean Smith, who missed tackles, got beat in coverage and had at least three plays in which he should have had an interception, including one where he was outjumped by the smallish T.Y. Hilton for a touchdown. Smith has had his share of good and bad days, but this is probably one of the worst for him.

The offensive line, specifically Jake Long, had a rough day. They struggled to consistently produce running lanes for the running backs despite facing one of the worst run defenses in the league. They also let Tannehill get hit too many times. Long in particular had his fair share of losses against Dwight Freeney.

The Ugly

The defensive playcalling on third down was very questionable. The Dolphins seemed to be content in rushing 3 or 4 and playing coverage. I don't recall one instance in which the Dolphins blitzed Luck on 3rd and long. With that much time to throw, he was able to wait it out while his wideouts got open against the soft coverage the Dolphins secondary was playing.

Overall

The first matchup between first round picks. Tannehill held his own and the future looks bright for the Dolphins at quarterback. But this team is still a work in progress and the pass rush and coverage need to be addressed. It was a exciting game and the QB match up did not disappoint. But the Dolphins were on the wrong side of the scoreboard in this one.

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