The Tape Don't Lie: Dolphins lose at Eagles, a Review by Joe Schad

PHILADELPHIA - The Dolphins lost at the Eagles, 31-17 on “Sunday Night Football.”

Philadelphia was penalized zero times and the Dolphins were penalized 10.

The Eagles repeatedly used the highly-suspect Tush Push, which may be banned.

Miami played without injured Terron Armstead, Connor Williams, De'Von Achane, Chris Brooks, Xavien Howard and Jalen Ramsey.

During the game, Jaylen Waddle, Isaiah Wynn, Jevon Holland and David Long were also hurt. The Dolphins need to get healthier. Soon.

Many coaches believe "The Tape Don't Lie," and that list includes Mike McDaniel.

"The game tape survives time," McDaniel says.

What did we notice in Miami's loss to the Eagles?

Let's see X and Ramsey together

Kader Kohou would be an excellent complement to Xavien Howard and Jalen Ramsey as a slot cornerback.

Miami has been attacked in the air this season too often.

Could Howard and Ramsey make their debut together this Sunday against New England?

This season, Kader Kohou has allowed 34 catches on 41 targets for 409 yards.

Kohou will benefit from playing with two Pro Bowl teammates.

This season, Eli Apple has allowed 27 catches on 42 targets for 320 yards.

Apple can be displaced in the starting lineup when the stars align again for Miami.

This year, Miami has allowed the sixth-worst team pass defense rating to opposing quarterbacks.

Dolphins fans signed up to see X and Ramsey as bookends.

Soon. Soon.

Officials played a key role

We don't talk about officiating often, if at all, here at The Tape Don't Lie.

But, The Tape Don't Lie, and officials did not have a great game on Sunday.

It seems impossible to believe a team could finish a game with zero penalties.

Boo, refs Dolphins have 10 penalties and Eagles have zero in loss

And though that's what the box score will say, yeah, whatever.

Whether it was Cedrick Wilson's face mask being yanked or David Long being tackled by the neck - Long was really good in this game - officials just missed too many calls.

And there is also no way that Jaelan Phillips wasn't held numerous times in this contest. There's no way Philadelphia's offensive line committed no holds in this game, while trying to slow down Phillips, Bradley Chubb and Christian Wilkins.

A personal foul on Christian Wilkins was highly debatable.

It was also possible that a penalty could have been called on an Eagles linebacker who appeared to hook an arm of Raheem Mostert on a key fourth-quarter interception.

Tua did acknowledge it was an underthrow.

Overall, though, a poor game by the officials. It had an impact.

Not a Tua problem

Tua underthrew Mostert on an interception, driving to tie the score at 24.

But overall, Tua continued his excellence.

Tua is performing as well as any quarterback in the NFL as he continues to throw with pinpoint accuracy, precision timing and superb confidence.

Some cable television critics this week have wondered how willing Tua is to extend plays or to take off and run as needed.

We think he is capable of extending plays. We think he will be willing to run in the most important of moments.

Tua's long touchdown pass to Tyreek Hill at the end of the first half was so reminiscent of his game-winning pass to DeVonta Smith to win the college football national championship.

Tua has gotten better on deep balls this year, after improving on deep balls last year.

An under-the-radar good play from Tua came with about 12 minutes left, when a snap from Liam Eichenberg hit the ground.

Tua showed great poise in calmly picking up the ball and throwing it on time to Jaylen Waddle. It's very hard at this point to rattle Tagovailoa.

Joe's 5 Takeaways Eagles defeat Dolphins 31-17

This & That

A holding call on left guard Lester Cotton that negated a touchdown pass from Tua to Tyreek Hill in the first quarter is too easily overlooked in the aftermath... Hill's drop of a potential touchdown in the third quarter is another pivotal moment that can slip our minds. Hill said the ball hit his knee as he began to accelerate... Jason Sanders is last in the NFL with 6 field goals made but first in the NFL with 30 extra points made... The Dolphins had a hard time rushing on Sunday but this rookie tight end Julian Hill really is a hell of a blocker. He's a developmental prospect worth monitoring... The Dolphins are 18th in the NFL in blitz percentage, but 1st in QB hits, 7th in pressure percentage and 3rd in sacks. This tells us they can get to the quarterback without blitzing. And when they do - see Kader Kohou blitz - good things happen - see Jerome Baker Pick 6 touchdown... Wilkins was offsides on a key third down with about six minutes to play... The Dolphins are third worst in the league with a -14 penalty differential. Most penalties, per NFL Penalties: Howard (6), Wilkins (4, including offside 3 times), Conner Williams (4), Eli Apple (3), Isaiah Wynn (3). Kendall Lamm, Terron Armstead, Robert Hunt and Austin Jackson have totaled only 3 penalties... Ban the Tush Push, NFL. It's not a competitive play. It's not fair to the defense. It's ugly to watch. And it can lead to injuries. I believe it will be gone before the 2024 season.

Joe Schad is a journalist at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jschad@pbpost.com and follow him on social media platforms @schadjoe. Sign up for Joe's free weekly Dolphins Pulse Newsletter. Help support our work by subscribing.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Dolphins, Tua, Tyreek, lose at Eagles, here is The Tape Don't Lie