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    • Dolphins in early season freefall after Monday night’s loss to Titans
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    Dolphins in early season freefall after Monday night’s loss to Titans

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    MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Mike McDaniel looked like a deer in the headlights when the cameras found the third-year coach of the Miami Dolphins.

    With starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa pacing the sideline, out for his second straight game on injured reserve due to his concussion in Week 2, the Dolphins were booked to play their third backup quarterback in two weeks.

    No matter how much McDaniel stared at his play call sheet, he had no answer offensively. To make matters worse for him, the Titans faced similar odds.

    But Tennessee first-year coach Brian Callahan and backup quarterback Mason Rudolph didn’t flinch when starter Will Levis suffered a right shoulder injury on a first down in the first quarter.

    It was Titans 31, Dolphins 12 in the “Monday Night Football” game that you probably didn’t watch because there was a better one to watch or livestream.

    McDaniel and the Dolphins entered the season after two consecutive playoff losses, hoping to take the next step together. They thought they had a Super Bowl window. But the reality is that window was slammed shut when both teams met on “Monday Night Football” in Week 14 last season.

    Tennessee scored two touchdowns in the final 2:40 to beat Miami last year — in a game that ruined the Dolphins’ chances to win the AFC East and exposed them to a playoff loss in frigid Kansas City.

    This year’s game just confirmed how far the Dolphins have come from a year ago — when they scored 70 points against the Denver Broncos in Week 3 — and how far they are from playoff aspirations for the third year in a row.

    Tagovailoa is on the shelf until Week 8, and there’s no telling how deep the Dolphins season will dip until his return.

    It’s not like starting quarterback Tyler Huntley didn’t try to throw it deep to star receiver Tyreek Hill. But he didn’t throw it far enough the first time, and just a little far the second time. That’s it.

    Huntley scored a 1-yard touchdown run with 3:36 left, and threw an interception on the two-point conversion. He was the Dolphins’ leading rusher with 40 yards.

    Hill had four catches for 23 yards receiving, and lost a fumble on the first drive of the game. Starting running back De’Von Achane had 18 total yards, and No. 2 receiver Jaylen Waddle had 36 yards on four catches.

    The Dolphins ran 40 plays, resulting in 84 net yards with 10:45 left in the game, and finished the game with 169 total yards after their fourth-quarter score.

    There wasn’t much creativity from McDaniel either, unlike Callahan’s game-shifting call that resulted in a touchdown.

    Titans backup running back Tyjae Spears lined up in shotgun formation. There was a false handoff to starting tailback Tony Pollard. And then a juke and 7-yard run by Spears into the end zone with six minutes left in the third quarter.

    Pollard scored a three-yard touchdown with 24 seconds left to end the Titans’ night.

    Callahan and the Titans improve to 2-2 after responding to adversity, with Levis’ shoulder an issue to deal with for another day.

    Meanwhile, McDaniel and the Dolphins remain searching for answers amid a freefall just a month into the 2024 season.

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