Bills vs. Dolphins: Miami Grades, Notes and Quotes

The skies over Sun Life Stadium were gray, but even if we had a typical sunny South Florida day the mood would be bleak thanks to the Miami Dolphins getting trounced 41-14 by the now 2-1 Buffalo Bills. 

The Dolphins now move to 1-2 and in last place in what should be a competitive AFC East. A loss next week could effectively eliminate the Dolphins out of playoff contention with a 1-3 record, and 0-2 against their divisional foes. 

What failed on this gloomy afternoon? The better question is what didn't fail. There's not a lot of good to talk about, and after three straight subpar games to start the season I'm starting to feel exhausted from writing angry diatribes disguised as game wrap-up columns. 

Here's a look at how this disaster played out, and as a warning, this isn't for the faint of heart. 

Positional Grades for the Dolphins

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Position	Grade
Quarterback	F
Running Back	F
Wide Receivers	C-
Tight Ends	F
Offensive Line	F
Defensive Line	F
Linebackers	F
Defensive Backs	F
Special Teams	F
Coaching	F

No one should be shocked by all of the F's, but you're probably wondering why I gave the wide receivers a C-. 

The reason for that is the hope I got from seeing DeVante Parker on the field. Targeted seven times, Parker pulled down three receptions for 46 yards. Why only three receptions? His last four targets came in the red zone, and on one play he caught the ball but was shoved out of bounds before landing, and on the play after that he caught the ball before Ronald Darby broke the pass up. 

Before that, he had two targets in the red zone on a drive, but the pass was nowhere near him due to the pressure from Buffalo's offensive line. 

He and Jarvis Landry (whom I fault for Tannehill's first of three interceptions in the game) are going to make a great wide receiver pairing for years to come, which is what I figured when the Dolphins drafted Parker back in April. 

The question is, will Parker see more of the field in the coming weeks? He should. He looks ready to return and adds a weapon the offense is sorely lacking. 

As for the rest of the team, if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all, but since it's my job to say something, I will. 

Ryan Tannehill rightly deserves his F, as he continues to struggle against the Buffalo Bills (he's now 2-5 against them). Yes, a lot of that is on the lack of a run game and a poor offensive line, but at some point, it's on him too. He gets too skittish in the pocket and forces throws too early. He did have a great drive when Miami scored a touchdown in the third quarter, and then he avoided a sack in the fourth quarter to connect with Rishard Matthews for Miami's second touchdown.  The focus should be on more good games. 

The running game was non-existent, once again a product of a porous offensive line. 

Now on defense, once again there was no production at all. Miami forced no turnovers and no sacks. Once again on key drives the Dolphins managed to bungle a third-down stop with a bad penalty, something the special teams unit was able to do. 

This game was bad from start to finish for the Dolphins. 

Tannehill's Interception-Less Streak Comes to an Explosive End

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The last time Ryan Tannehill threw an interception was against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 16 of the 2014 season. 

It set a new Miami Dolphins record for most pass attempts without an interception and gave Dolphins fans reason for optimism. 

That streak came to an explosive end on Sunday, and the first pick wasn't his fault. 

Tannehill delivered a nice pass to Jarvis Landry, who then bobbled it high up into the awaiting arms of Bills linebacker Preston Brown. 

Brown wasn't done picking Tannehill off, as he would take advantage of poor offensive line play by picking off Tannehill again in the second quarter after the Bills' pass rush forced him to throw, leading to a pick-six. 

In the second half, rookie Ronald Darby would get his interception off a very poorly thrown pass. 

This was not a good day for Tannehill, who also fumbled the ball once and was lucky enough to have Ja'Wuan James recover. It's a day I'm sure he'd want to forget, except he might have found a new target for the rest of the season that he can count on. 

DeVante Parker Has to Start in Week 4...and Beyond

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There aren't a lot of positives to look at in this game, in fact one might say there are none. 

DeVante Parker's play was the closest thing to a positive, as he had three receptions for 46 yards. 

Parker adds a different element to the receivers. Jarvis Landry and Rishard Matthews have played well and can move the chains, but Parker can give Miami the big play it needs. 

Yes, Matthews had the lone big play, but Miami needs more of those, and you're better off trusting Parker to come through than Matthews. 

Compare Parker's play to that of Greg Jennings, who has been underwhelming in the first three games of the season and has a few key drops. 

Replacing Jennings with Parker would be a wise move from this point on. Parker looks ready to contribute and could make the offense explode. 

Sending out an APB for the "Vaunted" Dolphins Pass Rush

Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Where is this vaunted Dolphins pass rush? 

This was supposed to carry Miami's defense, a defense weak at linebacker and seemingly weaker in the secondary. 

Yet the pass rush, and the defensive line as a whole, is in shambles and can't seem to produce. 

Miami recorded no sacks for the second consecutive game and has one sack on the season, made by a man that was inactive for Sunday afternoon's game. 

On top of that, teams can run on the Dolphins, and the Bills were no exception by running for 151 yards and a touchdown, fully controlling the pace of the game. 

Once again, this unit was supposed to be Miami's strength, not one of its many weaknesses. 

This isn't all on Ndamukong Suh, who found himself not only occupying double teams but also at times being triple teamed. The problem is the rest of the line just isn't showing up for reasons that seem to escape me. 

"No Panic but Definitely Urgency."

Andrew Innerarity-USA TODAY Sports

What's the feeling in Miami's locker room? 

According to Ryan Tannehill, there's no panic, just yet. Per Hal Habib of the Palm Beach Post: "guys frustrated. We know we're better team than we've showed. No panic but definitely urgency."

Where was that urgency on Sunday against Buffalo? Miami came out with none of that urgency on offense or defense, leading to Buffalo having a 27-0 lead at halftime. 

There is no reason to panic, as the Dolphins were 1-2 after an embarrassing home loss going into London last season and still had a shot at the playoffs at the end, but at the same time there's no reason for me to think this team feels any sense of urgency. 

"Next Week Is Must Win."

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Mike Pouncey might be a week late in this proclamation he made, per Andrew Abramson of the Palm Beach Post: "Next week is must win. If we don't win next week there's going to be a lot of pissed off guys here."

That's a nice sentiment by Pouncey, but is it too little too late? 

Miami is already in last place in the AFC East, but more importantly it's 0-1 in the division. 

Yes, next week is a must-win for the Dolphins. A loss puts them at 1-3 and 0-2 in the division (with both losses being "home" losses since the Dolphins are the home team next week in London). However, this week was a must-win. A victory against Buffalo would've righted the ship and moved Buffalo to 0-2 within the AFC East, not a good position to be in. 

Instead, it's Miami that's in a bad way, needing to not only win against the Jets, but also go on a fantastic run coming off its bye. 

"It Starts with Me"

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After the game, Joe Philbin had a lot to say, per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. 

"It starts with me", was how Philbin started off his remarks, which led to him saying: 

"

"We are what we are right now. We'll look at everything we're doing. If I had a magic potion, I would have brought it out earlier.

"We are either going to stick together or not.... We don't have anyone to blame. There's nobody to blame."

"

Philbin then added when asked about the effort level: "Look at the tape to see what happened today."

What happened today was a loss, the worst home-opener loss the Dolphins have had in a long time. The effort level was non-existent, and the play-calling was worse. 

Who does that fall on? Everyone, coaches, players, everyone. 

If this doesn't change, Miami might have a new head coach when it returns to London. 

Stats provided by NFL.com.