Injury Bug Biting Miami Dolphins at Worst Possible Time

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — There's never a good time to be hit with the injury bug.

But the Miami Dolphins are 3-4 and need wins like real dolphins need water. 

The Dolphins lost 36-7 to the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on Thursday night, but that may not have been the worst loss they suffered. During the course of the game, the Dolphins lost three players to injury—including two big keys to the team's success in the trenches.

Right tackle Ja'Wuan James left the game with a toe injury, wide receiver DeVante Parker left the game with a foot injury and defensive end Cameron Wake left the game with an Achilles injury. Each was ruled out shortly afterward.

In addition, running back Damien Williams left the game with a hand injury and was taken to the locker room on a golf cart, though no update was provided on his injury after being ruled questionable to return.

It would be crazy not to be slightly concerned by the slew of injuries, but head coach Dan Campbell wouldn't go as far as to blame the loss on the injuries.

"Well, yeah, it concerns you," Campbell said. "I don't know the status of every one of them just yet. We'll find out on Cameron Wake—if something happens there that could hurt us. I don't know if, what, how long it could be, but yeah, as far as tonight's game, those didn't affect us at all. Injuries didn't hurt us."

Campbell might be singing a different tune if Wake and James miss significant time and the Dolphins struggle to play their dominant brand of football in the trenches in their absence.

Wake had seven sacks in the past two games after being held without a sack in the first four games of the season. His awakening (no pun intended) has been key to the Dolphins' defensive turnaround; the defense had just one sack through four games but upped that total to 12 sacks over the past three games, including two sacks of Patriots quarterback Tom Brady on Thursday.

Obviously, losing Wake would be a huge blow to the defense.

"I'd feel horrible, and I know his teammates would, too, if that was the case," Campbell said of the potential of losing Wake for the rest of the season. "We'll see what happens with this, but if you lost a guy like him, it would hurt. It would. Not only is he a leader, but he's a very productive player."

That's not lip service. That's just the truth. Wake is one of the best pass-rushers in the NFL, and his presence on the field changes the way offenses play.

On the other hand, Ja'Wuan James may not be the big-time star that Wake is, but his importance to the team has been felt—and could be felt even stronger if he misses time.

It would be one thing if James were the only offensive lineman feeling the bite of the injury bug, but left tackle Branden Albert has also been dealing with a hamstring injury of late. He missed a couple of games with the injury but returned to the lineup in Week 6. 

The offensive line has also been a huge key to the Dolphins' turnaround. The Dolphins have finally protected quarterback Ryan Tannehill—with the exception of Thursday night (five sacks). They have finally found some rhythm in the running game—again, with the exception of Thursday night (13 carries, 15 yards rushing).

The Dolphins' toughness in the trenches has been paramount to their offensive success, and to lose James would throw that group into flux yet again. They've been searching for continuity and consistency up front but have gotten neither. If James misses time, the shuffling would probably continue.

At least with DeVante Parker's injury, the Dolphins aren't losing much—they haven't gotten much out of him to this point (four catches for 49 yards this season). Plus, the Dolphins have both Jarvis Landry and Rishard Matthews stepping up at the wide receiver position, so they haven't felt the pinch of the lack of production from their first-round pick.

That being said, Parker was expected to have an immediate impact on the Dolphins offense by providing it with a reliable downfield threat and read-selling target, but thus far this season, he has been neither of those two things. However, with the repeated setbacks, Parker's ability to reach his potential is being significantly hindered.

The same could be said of the entire Dolphins roster. Depth was one of the team's biggest concerns headed into the season, and that depth is being tested early in Campbell's tenure as interim head coach.

All quotes obtained firsthand.