What stood out in the first half of the Miami Dolphins’ Week 4 game against the Tennessee Titans:

We’ll start with the inactive list, which was again highlighted by five injured players: tackle Terron Armstead, running back Raheem Mostert, cornerback Kendall Fuller, linebacker David Long Jr. and Skylar Thompson as emergency quarterback.

Also inactive was rookie linebacker Mohamed Kamara, the fifth-round pick out of Colorado State.

Rookies Malik Washington and Andrew Meyer were each active for the first time and set to make their NFL debuts, while CB Ethan Bonner and LB Channing Tindall were also active for the first time this season.

Dee Eskridge was named off the practice squad Monday afternoon to join Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, Braxton Berrios and Washington on the wide receiver corps.

The Dolphins started to defend for the second straight time after winning the coin toss and deferring, and Tennessee started its first drive at its 23.

The Dolphins looked like they had an immediate three-and-out, but Jaelan Phillips was flagged for roughing the passer after falling around right tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere but continuing his roll into Levis’ legs .

Linebacker Jordyn Brooks looked like he was shot out of a cannon on a throw to Tony Pollard and brought him down after Emmanuel Ogbah kept him in by setting the edge, resulting in a loss of two yards.

Jalen Ramsey traveled with Calvin Ridley after that third-down penalty on Phillips.

DeAndre Hopkins took advantage of a soft zone to catch a 16-yard pass from Levis as the Titans entered Dolphins territory.

On a second-and-9 from the Miami 43, Levis was rushing a throw as Ramsey shot out of the slot and Ogbah made an easy pick after falling into coverage, squeezing the ball between his legs after failing to clear the to make a catch neatly.

Great start for the Dolphins offense with an easy over-the-middle completion to Jaylen Waddle for 14 yards and a 16-yard run by Tyreek Hill with a jet sweep.

A sloppy play around Hill ended the drive in Titans territory after he failed to catch a Tyler Huntley swing pass that was actually a lateral. Worse, Hill never made any effort to fall on the loose ball and the recovery was easy for Tennessee.

After the Dolphins defense got a three-and-out thanks to what looked like a favorable spot on Will Levis’ third-down scramble, the Dolphins offense had a three-and-out of its own and it wasn’t pretty.

On a third and six, two Tennessee rushers came from the left side and Austin Jackson picked off the inside rusher, leaving Harold Landry with a free run to Huntley for the very easy sack.

The next Tennessee series featured two tackles for loss on running plays, one each by Ogbah (who had a great first quarter himself) and Calais Campbell.

With Mason Rudolph at quarterback after Levis injured his right shoulder struggling on the previous drive, Tennessee got into field goal range thanks to a 13-yard completion before the first quarter ended with the Titans facing a Miami third-and-6. 30.

Storm Duck stopped the drive with a big play as he fought off WR Treylon Burks’ block and dropped running back Tyjae Spears for a 5-yard loss before Nick Foik made a 53-yard field goal to give Tennesee a 3-0 lead deliver.

The Dolphins reached Tennessee territory on their next drive thanks to a roughing-the-passer penalty on Arden Key (also for hitting the QB low), but that came after Julian Hill was knocked over by Key on the way to Huntley .

The drive ended on a fourth-and-1 from the Titans 46 when Tyreek Hill performed a jet sweep but was never able to turn the corner before safety Quandre Diggs tackled him out of bounds for a loss of 1 yard, closing the short yardage of the Dolphins was continued. problems.

Tennessee moved quickly into field goal range thanks to four consecutive runs that gained 24 yards, and it looked like things might get worse when Tyjae Spears reached the Miami 2-yard line, but the Dolphins were saved by a questionable holding penalty. The Titans eventually settled for a field goal and a 6-3 lead.

The Dolphins finally got something going on their next drive, starting with cornerback L’Jarius Sneed giving them 15 yards of free time by knocking the ball out of Jaylen Wright’s hands after tackling him out of bounds.

Tyler Huntley’s mobility came into play when he converted a third-and-11 with a 12-yard run on a QB draw.

The drive stalled after Huntley’s completion to Jaylen Waddle on third-and-6 gained just four yards, and Jason Sanders then made it 6-3 with a 44-yard field goal.

The Dolphins defense got a stop on the next drive after it entered Miami territory thanks to Jaelan Phillips hitting Rudolph’s pass at the line on third-and-2.

It was another forgettable drive for the Dolphins offense, ending in a five-yard completion to De’Von Achane on third-and-9 after a quick throw to the line.

After the defense held, there was an odd play where Calais Campbell appeared to get a hand on a punt, but then Duke Riley tried to field it but couldn’t get it under control and Tennessee recovered. The play was reviewed to see if a Titans player touched the ball first, which would end the play and replay would nullify the turnover.

And in doing so, the dolphins avoided a potential problem.

And then the Doplhins were called for an illegal formation on a play that saw Aaron Brewer break the ball out of the shotgun before Huntley was ready, wiping out a big loss.

Boos came from Hard Rock Stadium when Huntley simply handed third-and-8 on the Dolphins’ final offensive play of the half.

And then came a bad kick from Jake Bailey, a 26-yard completion up the middle to Tyler Boyd, allowing the Titans to set up a 47-yard field goal on the final play of a truly ugly first half for Miami.

The Dolphins got the ball to start the second half, but quickly went three-and-out, with Huntley getting swamped by pressure on third-and-9 after Waddle dropped a completion that would have been good for a first defeat on the previous campaign.

Campbell came up with another nice play when his penetration led to Zach Sieler stopping Tony Pollard for no gain, before Jordyn Brooks came in with a double blitz with a free run on Rudolph for the third down sack.

Braxton Berrios then gave the Dolphins a spark with a 27-yard punt return to set up the Dolphins at the Tennessee 48 to start their next drive.

The drive went nowhere, although a defensive holding penalty was enough to get Jason Sanders into position to make a 56-yard field goal.

The Dolphins went conservative on third-and-11, with Huntley running the ball on the option.

The Dolphins had a chance for a defensive three-and-out, but Kader Kohou was called for a 15-yard DPI against DeAndre Hopkins on third down, the result of not turning over when the ball arrived, something that was a stretch for him. was a problem. since he entered the NFL.

Two plays later came the big play that hurt the Dolphins defense every game, this time a 41-yard run by Tony Pollard with some good blocking up front.

That set up a seven-yard touchdown run as Tyjae Spears took over the Wildcat formation’s offense and Zach Sieler came up with a big play to make the score 16-6.

The Dolphins’ next series was another failure, starting with Huntley being sacked first by Sebastian Joseph.

Huntley had a chance for a big play on third-and-17 when Tyreek Hill got behind cornerback L’Jarius Sneed, but Huntley shot past him.

A 15-yard penalty on Siran Neal on the ensuing punt when he ran out of bounds and failed to make an immediate attempt to get back into the field of play allowed Tennessee another Nick Folk field goal, making it turned 19. 6.

The third quarter ended with Huntley completing a 9-yard pass to Malik Washington for the rookie’s first NFL catch.

A low point of this poor third quarter was Jaelan Phillips being ruled out due to a knee injury.

More misery for the offense, which simply can’t run the ball, this time with Achane losing for a 1-yard loss on fourth-and-1 from the Miami 39.

Ogbah, who had a strong night, takes a big hit when his hand gets into Tyjae Spears’ face mask.

The Dolphins defense holds tight after Tennessee gets a first-and-goal, but Folk’s fifth field goal makes the score 22-6.

The Dolphins finally got back into the end zone – for the first time since the third quarter of the Buffalo game in Week 2 – thanks to a 70-yard touchdown drive, but it took 7:09 off the clock and left Miami down two scores when the two-point conversion failed.

The Dolphins overcame three illegal shift penalties on the drive and had a fourth-and-12 conversion when Huntley hit Waddle on a short crosser for 18 yards.

The drive also included a 20-yard run by Jaylen Wright and a 21-yard scramble by Huntley.

The touchdown was scored by Huntley on a 1-yard draw.

The Dolphins’ slim chances of making a comeback ended when Tyler Boyd recovered Jason Sanders’ onside kick attempt – under the new rules when the onside kick must be declared.

For good measure, the Dolphins gave up a safety when they got the ball back when Huntley was called for an intentional grounding while in the end zone.

That made it 24-12, and the Dolphins announced their intention for another onside kick. And this one was weird again because punter Jake Bailey’s punt landed outside the setup zone, giving the Titans the ball at the Miami 10-yard line.

The Titans just ran the ball after taking over, but still managed to get a second touchdown when Tony Pollard outpaced the defense around the corner on fourth-and-goal to make it 31-12.

And that was the final score when the Dolphins suffered their consecutive loss.