Miami Dolphins: 3 Things that need improvement to contend

Keep their foot on the gas

The Dolphins have managed to build up significant leads in the second half of both of their games this season and have held on to those leads. However, they have let both the Titans and Jets hang around and make a game out of it.

Miami led the Titans by as much as 24-10 in the fourth quarter of Week 1. Twice they allowed the Titans to make it a one score game. Granted, Tennessee did kick a field goal with just 11 seconds left and returned a kickoff in that span, but they also did next to nothing on offense during the last 10 minutes of the game and allowed Blaine Gabbert to drive 45 yards down the field to make an onside kick relevant.

In Week 2, the Dolphins had opened up a 20-0 lead at halftime over the lowly Jets. Their offense was completely useless in the second half, though. They once again allowed a team to close the gap and it was a one-score game when the final whistle sounded. This team won’t have the luxury of facing a bumbling mistake-prone rookie quarterback every week and this kind of play will come back to bite them.

Of course, you don’t want to make to mistakes and it’s important to hold on to your leads late, but the offense has to stay more aggressive and execute more successfully in the fourth quarter. Hopefully they can get this turned around and really demoralize the Oakland Raiders in Week 3 before heading to New England the following week, when they’ll truly be tested.