Miami Dolphins rumors indicate the Matt Moore experiment is over. After losing to the Baltimore Ravens, 40-0 on Thursday night (Oct. 26), the team is ready to move in a different direction. That includes benching the starting quarterback who couldn’t put the Dolphins on the scoreboard. Jay Cutler will be the man behind center again if he is healthy enough to play against the Oakland Raiders in Week 9.
A report by NBC Sports confirms that Dolphins head coach Adam Gase has had enough of Matt Moore. Gase gave Moore a long leash and the opportunity to take over the starting quarterback job when Cutler got hurt, but it may be a decision that the coach ends up regretting.
In a game that the Dolphins really needed to win, the offense completely stalled out, leading to a very one-sided game on national television.
Matt Moore’s final stat line
Moore completed 25-of-44 passes for the Dolphins, throwing for 176 yards against the Ravens. He had two interceptions, though, with both getting returned for touchdowns by the Ravens. The loss wasn’t entirely his fault, but posting a QBR of just 12.8 and a quarterback rating of 47.2 was not what the coaching staff had hoped to see from Moore. This was a far cry from what he did against the New York Jets on Sunday (Oct. 22).
Steeping in after Jay Cutler got hurt, Matt Moore completed 13-of-21 passes for 188 yards and two touchdowns against the Jets.
He helped steer the Dolphins to an important 31-28 divisional win and suddenly the team had a 4-2 record on the season. It earned him the nod for the game against the Ravens, but nothing went according to plan in this game. Now Moore is going to have to earn back his role as the second-string quarterback behind Cutler.
Dolphins could be in trouble
Before the game on Thursday night, the Miami Dolphins actually held the second Wild Card spot in the AFC playoff standings. It was a good spot to be in at this point of the season and it also put the Dolphins just one game behind the first-place New England Patriots. A win over the Ravens could have been huge for the team, but the game ended up taking the team in the opposite direction.
Now the Dolphins will have to battle back with a new plan moving forward.
Heading into Week 9, the Dolphins have fallen to the No. 7 spot in the AFC, losing in a tiebreaker to the Jacksonville Jaguars for that No. 6 slot. Their next game comes on Nov. 5 against the Oakland Raiders, with NBC covering the Sunday night game. That gives the coaches and Jay Cutler 10 days to work on a game plan so the team can do well in front of the home crowd. Can Cutler get this team back on track? Or was this 40-0 loss an indication that the Miami Dolphins aren’t really a playoff team?
