The Miami Dolphins were beaten 26-3 by the New York Giants on Saturday and left with only 102 yards of offense, a flat showing that put their protection problems back in the spotlight before the regular season.
That is why Tutu Atwell is being searched now, because the loss was not just a bad final score. It was a game in which the Dolphins could not keep anything moving, and the pressure issues up front were visible from the opening snaps.
The numbers tell the story. The Dolphins’ starting offense was responsible for some of the yardage, but the total stayed stuck at 102, which means the rest had to come from backups and late-game drives that never turned into much. The starting offensive line had trouble with the Giants’ defensive line, especially in pass protection, even though the group has been better in run blocking. That split matters because a line can survive if it moves people in the run game, but it cannot hide if it fails when the quarterback has to hold the ball.
Patrick Paul in has become part of that conversation. He has done well enough in run blocking, but he has struggled at times in pass protection and has also been flagged for penalties. That stood out even more because he had already won a battle in practice on Thursday that was so frustrating to Abdal Carter that Carter answered with an open-hand punch. The same player who can draw that kind of reaction can also be part of the reason the line looks uneven when the play shifts from leverage in the run game to straight dropback work.
The middle of the line was beaten too, and that made the problem bigger than one tackle or one matchup. Austin Jackson was said to have regressed, and Chop Robinson had his way with him, while the overall picture was of a unit that could move bodies in one phase and get exposed in another. That is a bad sign for The Miami Dolphins because offensive line flaws are the kind that show up fastest when injuries force backups into bigger roles.
Malik Willis was the one steadying presence in the room, showing the ability to elude the pass rush with his athletic ability and, more importantly, pulling the team together when things aren’t going well. That does not erase a 26-3 loss or the fact that The Dolphins were held to 102 yards, but it does show why the staff will lean on his composure if the pocket keeps collapsing. The unanswered question is not whether the line has a problem. It does. The question is how much of it can be fixed before the regular season turns the same flaws into something harder to absorb.
