Lamar Miller's 100-yard game not enough versus Chiefs
September 21, 2014|By Shandel Richardson, Sun Sentinel
MIAMI GARDENS — Dolphins running back Lamar Miller was in full cliché mode.
The normally quiet Miller has never been one for speaking about personal achievement, but he avoided it even more after Sunday's 34-15 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs at Sun Life Stadium. Miller ran for a career-high 108 yards on 15 carries in the losing effort.
He was no mood to discuss the milestone after the Dolphins fell to 1-2, choosing to simply thank his offensive line for the performance.
"Very disappointed," Miller said. "I think we've got to improve in all three phases. We've got to start faster. We've just go to put more points on the scoreboard."
The fact the Dolphins sputtered offensively had nothing to do with Miller. He averaged 7.2 yards a carry in a game where they were supposed to lack running power. The Dolphins were without Knowshon Moreno, who is sidelined with an elbow injury. Miller, who also caught four passes for 24 yards, proved he was able to shoulder the backfield load.
"It's a good feeling, but I still got a lot of room for improvement," Miller said. "I give credit to the offensive line. They've been doing a great job through this whole season … I was just feeding off them."
It marked just Miller's second 100-yard game of his three-year career. He ran for 105 yards last October against the Cincinnati Bengals. It was hardly the talking point after the Dolphins dropped their second straight game.
They were once again hampered by slow starts and passing game struggles offensively. The Dolphins have scored just 13 first-half points through three games.
“We’ll have to look at everything we’re doing," Dolphins coach Joe Philbin said. "We’ll look at how we’re calling things, we’ll look at practice, we’ll look at anything. We have to start better. It’s not a good formula to be down on average ten points over three weeks. It’s not a good way to play.”
Despite playing from behind, they had opportunity to grab the lead early in the fourth quarter. The Dolphins seemingly had the momentum after a safety pulled them to within 21-15. Three possessions later, they faced a 3rd-and-1 at the Kansas City 47. The Dolphins were forced to punt after quarterback Ryan Tannehill was sacked.
The Chiefs then put things away on the next drive when quarterback Alex Smith hit Joe McKnight for a four-yard touchdown pass.
Miller felt gaining a yard on that third down could have made a difference for the Dolphins.
"I think it would have changed a lot," Miller said. "It would have put us in a better situation. It would have given the defense more energy to come out and make a stop."
With Miller producing, it left the passing game under fire. Tannehill completed just 48 percent of his passes and was sacked four times. The more efficient Smith was 19 of 25 for 186 yards and three touchdowns for the Chiefs.
"I would just say the offense isn't clicking at the point at which you want to be clicking at," receiver Brian Hartline said. "We're not trying to hang it on one side or the other. We're not trying to put it on one position group or the other. We need to complement ourselves more than anything. There's going to be times when the running game is not as good. Passing is got to pick it up and vice versa."
