MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — They hadn’t played particularly well, but the Las Vegas Raiders were a defensive stop away from giving their offense a chance to win the game with 3:28 left in the fourth quarter. On a second-and-11, however, the defense left Miami Dolphins tight end Jonnu Smith as wide open as an NFL player can be.
Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa didn’t notice him at first — his eyes initially went to receiver Tyreek Hill — but when he looked to his left, he saw Smith standing all alone. Blitzing Raiders linebacker Divine Deablo was closing in on him, but he was able to fade away from him and make the throw. Smith easily hauled it in and ran the rest of the way for a 57-yard touchdown catch that put the contest to bed.
Just like that, the Raiders went from trailing by just five points and having a shot at a much-needed victory to suffering their sixth straight defeat in a 34-19 loss to the Dolphins on Sunday.
“(It was) miscommunication, obviously, on the deep ball,” coach Antonio Pierce said Sunday when asked what went wrong on Smith’s game-sealing touchdown.
Jonnu Smith WIDE OPEN for the 57-yard TD!
📺: #LVvsMIA on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG pic.twitter.com/VMOXPnzMzM— NFL (@NFL) November 17, 2024
Defensive coordinator Patrick Graham called Cover 0, which is man coverage with no safety help. The Dolphins had five players run routes and the Raiders had five players drop back in coverage, so the numbers were even.
Right before the snap, the Dolphins motioned tight end Durham Smythe to the offensive left. Linebacker Robert Spillane pointed it out while looking back and talking to safety Tre’von Moehrig in an attempt to adjust the coverage. Smythe, Smith and running back Raheem Mostert were running routes to the offensive left. Since the Raiders had Deablo, Moehrig and cornerback Decamerion Richardson on that side, they should’ve had each receiver covered.
Instead of dropping back into coverage, however, Deablo was blitzing. Moehrig picked up Smythe, but that left Richardson to choose between covering Mostert or Smith. He chose Mostert, who ran an underneath route. That left Smith uncovered deep in the middle of the field.
“He wound up by himself,” safety Isaiah Pola-Mao said Sunday. “We can’t do that on the back end.”
After the game, Richardson took the blame for not covering the bigger threat.
“I’ve got to execute on that,” Richardson said. “You’ve got to be in the right spots.”
Richardson was on the field because starting outside cornerbacks Jakorian Bennett (shoulder) and Jack Jones (back) were knocked out of the game with injuries. Nate Hobbs, who normally starts at nickelback but can also line up outside, didn’t play due to an ankle injury. By the fourth quarter, the Raiders were left with three backup cornerbacks in Richardson, Darnay Holmes and Sam Webb. That contributed to the communication issues.
“It’s something that’s easily fixable,” Webb said Sunday.
Smith’s fourth-quarter touchdown wasn’t the first time that a lack of communication cost the Raiders dearly. On Smith’s first touchdown in the first quarter, the Raiders were also in man coverage. That time, Smith was the one put in motion before the snap. Richardson picked up receiver Jaylen Waddle and Moehrig took Hill, but Pola-Mao wasn’t able to make it across the formation in time to pick up Smith, who was left wide open.
Poetry in motion@Tua finds @Easymoney_81 for 6️⃣! pic.twitter.com/HXZX24qro3
— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) November 17, 2024
After the game, Pola-Mao chalked it up to miscommunication. Ideally, either Moehrig or Richardson would’ve switched to Smith instead.
“It was another (lack of communication),” Pola-Mao said. “But at the end of the day, I’ve just got to go out there and make it right.”
Like Richardson, Pola-Mao is also filling in due to injury after starting safety Marcus Epps was lost for the season after suffering a torn ACL in Week 3. Every team in the NFL has to deal with injuries, though, and it’s on the coaching staff to shore up communication issues.
“We’ve got to be (able to figure it out),” Pierce said. “When new guys come in, we’ve just got to keep talking. Overcommunicating is what we talk about when you get a younger guy in there or somebody who hasn’t gotten a lot of reps. It’s no excuse, but we’ve got to keep communicating. We knew they were going to motion or shift on every play.”
It was a rough day overall for the defense as it gave up 34 points and 353 total yards. The Raiders allowed the Dolphins to convert on eight of 12 third downs and both of their fourth-down attempts. Miami had four red zone possessions and scored touchdowns on three of them. The Dolphins only had seven drives all game and scored on six of them. The Raiders did a solid job of defending the run — they limited the Dolphins to 3.2 yards per carry — but the positives ended there for the defense.
Coming off a 2023 season where the Raiders finished ninth in scoring defense and an offseason in which they signed star defensive tackle Christian Wilkins away from the Dolphins, expectations were high this year for Graham’s unit. But through 11 games, they’ve been one of the worst defenses in the league.
The injuries have to be noted. Wilkins didn’t get to play in his return to Miami because he’s still on injured reserve after suffering a Jones fracture in Week 5. Three other defensive starters didn’t suit up against the Dolphins, and the Raiders lost two more to injuries on Sunday. Still, the players and coaches believe they’re capable of playing better than they are.
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Despite Pierce’s notorious “business decisions” comment following an embarrassing Week 3 loss to the Carolina Panthers, their effort hasn’t been viewed as a problem.
“Guys show up on Mondays right after the game and work out. The whole team does. Tuesday as well,” defensive end Maxx Crosby said Sunday. “We’re showing up every single day. Guys are looking to improve. I don’t think that’s the issue at all. These guys are great in this locker room. … We’ve just got to keep showing up.”
That sentiment has been echoed on the offensive side of the ball. The mood in the locker room was predictably somber, but the team hasn’t quit.
“We’re down, man,” quarterback Gardner Minshew II said Sunday. “I’ve been on teams where you send in, but we’re not doing that. We practice hard, dude. We show up and lift on Mondays. Everybody’s doing the right things, man. We haven’t been getting the results and we’ve been coming up a few plays short, but I feel like if we continue on our process and continue trying to get better, it’s going to break for us.”
For that to happen, the defense has to make a resurgence. During their six-game losing streak, the Raiders have given up 32 or more points four times. It’s clear they aren’t going to fulfill their playoff aspirations this season, but there’s still value in being able to bring this avalanche of defensive problems to an end. The Raiders have already fired three coaches this season, and it’s no secret that more change could come unless we see some progress by the end of the season.
“You can always make excuses and point to other things, but it’s just about details,” Crosby said. “We’re just playing for pride at this point.”
(Photo of Jonnu Smith running for a touchdown against Isaiah Pola-Mao: Megan Briggs / Getty Images)
