The Dolphins offense continues to be broken without Tua Tagovailoa, losing to the Titans

Last season, the Miami Dolphins played in front of a national audience on Black Friday against a New York Jets team that had a major, fatal problem. They didn't have a quarterback.

Tim Boyle was so bad that day that he had a Hail Mary attempt at the end of the half that the Dolphins recovered for a pick-6. The Jets gained 159 yards and didn't score an offensive touchdown until garbage time. The Dolphins won and everyone knew the Jets were better. They were just completely incompetent at quarterback.

On Monday night, the Dolphins could feel the pain of the 2023 Jets.

With their third starting quarterback in the first four weeks of the season, the Dolphins have been terrible. The Tennessee Titans weren't good either, but won 31-12 against a Dolphins team that can't keep up without Tua Tagovailoa, who is out for a while with a concussion. Tyler Huntley had 96 yards passing and the Dolphins had 184 yards and 13 first downs as a team.

The Dolphins signed Huntley from the Baltimore Ravens' practice squad on September 17, and he started 13 days later. He was no better than Skylar Thompson, the Week 3 starter, or Boyle, who now plays for the Dolphins and came into the game last week when Thompson was injured. The offense went nowhere. It was ugly.

As the calendar turned to October, it seemed like the Dolphins' season was already over.

An ugly game on Monday night

When ESPN tuned in for the Titans-Dolphins as part of their Week 4 doubleheader on Monday night, they expected Will Levis against Tagovailoa. As it turned out, Mason Rudolph was the best quarterback on the field.

Levis threw a terrible interception on Tennessee's first series, then landed hard on the shoulder for a first down on the Titans' second possession. Rudolph came in and while he wasn't spectacular, the former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback was steady. The Titans were probably happy to play solidly from that position for a change. The Dolphins would have taken it.

Neither team scored a touchdown in the first half. It was sloppy football, but at least the Titans made three field goals. That was enough for a 9:3 halftime lead.

Just before the end of the half, a shotgun blast went right past Huntley and he had to cover it up before the Titans did. However, a big loss was wiped out because the Dolphins had an illegal shift before the snap. ESPN's cameras were trained on Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel, who shook his head sadly.

That summed it up for the Dolphins. This is not the offense McDaniel or anyone else was hoping for this season.

The dolphins are doing badly

It's tough for the Dolphins and will last until Tagovailoa is out. McDaniel doesn't perform miracles with the quarterbacks available, and that has led to some overreactions about his abilities as a coach. Without a functioning quarterback, not many coaches would do much better.

The Dolphins were hoping to improve from last season, when they led the AFC East for most of the season and made the playoffs. There is a lot of talent in the squad. But it's hard to play without a viable quarterback. The Dolphins had a nice game plan in the fourth quarter when they faked a running play and Jaylen Waddle was wide open near the sideline. Huntley missed him by a mile due to an incompletion. There's not much a Dolphins coach or teammate can do about it.

In the third quarter, the Titans finally got a touchdown on the board. A subsequent field goal gave them a 19-6 lead. That seemed insurmountable against the Dolphins' current offense. Miami was a little desperate with just over 14 minutes left in the game, going all-out on fourth-and-1 from their own 39 minutes. The handoff went to De'Von Achane and he was stopped for a loss.

Without Tagovailoa, everything with the Dolphins will be a chore. Miami is 1-3 and has lost three straight. No matter who is next in line to be the Dolphins' quarterback on the carousel, it's hard to believe much will change.