Wow. That was ugly. The Miami Dolphins were no-shows in Sunday’s 24-3 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. The loss dropped Miami to 1-2 on the season, the first time in Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel’s career that he has been below the .500 mark. Miami’s Week 3 game is one that fans should forget about — but the team should keep watching, because it wasn’t good enough.

Miami struggled throughout the game, especially on offense. The defense made enough plays to keep the team within reach of the Seahawks, preventing Seattle from scoring in the second and third quarters, forcing turnovers and getting stops. The offense couldn’t capitalize on any of the advantages the defense gave them, and Miami deserved to lose the game.

Who saw their stocks rise during the match? Who had some issues that negatively impacted their stock valuation? We react to the performance of the match.

Stock up

Zach Sieler and Calais Campbell, defensive tackle – I’m going to put these two together because the pair have been dominant together in the middle of the Miami defense. Sieler recorded three tackles, a sack, and an interception on Sunday, while Campbell had three tackles, a sack, two quarterback hits, and a pass defensed (deflecting the ball that Sieler intercepted). After the game, I saw a meme on X insinuating that the Dolphins defense misses Christian Wilkins, the defensive tackle who signed with the Las Vegas Raiders in free agency this year. That seems wrong. There are a lot of problems with Miami right now, but Sieler and Campbell aren’t on that list.

Stock down

Skylar Thompson, quarterback – I don’t want to kick Thompson while he’s already on the ground, considering the quarterback suffered a rib/chest injury during the game and was forced to sit out, but he simply wasn’t playing well before the injury. He took too long to make a decision while the game still looked too fast for him. He finished 13 of 19 for 107 yards. Averaging 5.6 yards per attempt only adds to the frustration of a Dolphins offense that has no intention of using its speed to open up the top of the defense. Thompson is in his third season and has been a developmental project since being drafted in the seventh round in 2022, but he played like a developmental project on Sunday.

Tyreek Hill, wide receiver – Remember Hill doing anything on Sunday? I think the most memorable moment was when he bounced a bubble screen pass off his hands. The All-Pro wide receiver had no impact on this game. He finished with a team-high 40 receiving yards, but I honestly can’t recall a single reception he made. With quarterback Tua Tagovailoa out with an injury, Miami needs its best players to step up — but Hill didn’t do that this week.

Durham Smythe, tight end – Smythe just seems to be regressing this year. He was targeted twice, hauling in one pass for three yards. His second target was in the back of the end zone, with the tight end getting the ball as he dove but not being able to hold on to it once it hit the ground. This isn’t a judgment call based on that one play, but it feels like Smythe is a forgotten part of the offense at this point.

Julian Hill, tight end – While Smythe is fading, Hill is standing out for all the wrong reasons. He continues to draw flags, both on offense and special teams. Hill should see his playing time drop, which could potentially open up more playing time for Smythe to get him back on the other side of this rating.

Robert Jones, guard – This may not be fair, as many of the offensive line struggled throughout the game, especially with penalties. However, Jones stood out as someone who struggled more than the rest of the group.

Mike McDaniel, Head Coach – In 2023, the Dolphins averaged 401 yards per game on offense and 29.2 points per game. In 2024, they’ll average 318.7 yards per game and 11 points. The last two weeks have been miserable considering Miami put up 400 yards of offense and scored 20 points in Week 1 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. McDaniel’s high-powered offense doesn’t play like a high-powered offense. It feels like he’s trying to prove his creativity by changing what worked for Miami last year but isn’t working this year. The game plans, in-game decisions, clock management, undisciplined fouls, and play calling have all been out of whack through the first three weeks of 2024. Even accounting for Tagovailoa’s injury, the Dolphins had 10 days to prepare for the Seahawks game, and it looked like they were running a walkthrough for much of Sunday. Unacceptable.