As the Dolphins slowly drift out of the playoff picture, they're apparently not going to disappear quietly.
On Thursday, four days after they blew a 10-point fourth-quarter lead to the Colts and three days before they face a very bad Bills team they need to beat if they have any hopes of resurrecting their playoff dreams, Dolphins receiver Kenny Stills seemingly took aim at the Dolphins' quarterbacks by telling reporters that he and the rest of the receivers are getting open, but they just aren't getting targeted. Channeling his inner Gisele Bundchen, Stills said that he "can't throw the ball" to himself.
Kenny Stills: "I couldn't tell you exactly why I'm not getting more targets. I can tell you I'm getting open."
— Armando Salguero (@ArmandoSalguero) November 29, 2018
"There are other guys open on plays, too, that aren't getting hit."
"I can't throw the ball to myself."
Stills later tried to clarify his remarks by saying he wasn't criticizing Brock Osweiler or Ryan Tannehill, but when a receiver says, "I can't throw the ball to myself," well, the comment speaks for itself.
Kenny Stills just clarified he wasn't referring to Ryan Tannehill or Brock Osweiler with this comment. He just said he literally can't throw the ball to himself.
— Cameron Wolfe (@CameronWolfe) November 29, 2018
"There's no single person we can point the finger at."
Neither quarterback has been particularly effective. Getting five starts in relief of an injured Tannehill, Osweiler completed 63.5 percent of his passes, averaged 7.0 yards per attempt, threw six touchdowns and four interceptions, and posted an 86.0 passer rating. Tannehill, on the other hand, has completed 66.2 percent of his passes, averaged 7.6 yards per attempt, thrown 10 touchdowns and five interceptions, and posted a 97.2 passer rating in six starts.
Stills, meanwhile, has watched his production plummet. A year ago, he caught 58 of 105 targets for 847 yards and six touchdowns. In 10 games this season, he's been targeted only 37 times, catching 20 of them for 332 yards and four touchdowns.
As a whole, the Dolphins' offense ranks 27th in passing yards per game, 25th in scoring, and 23rd in DVOA. All five of their wins have come by one score. Over the course of the season, they've been outscored by 60 points. They're 2-6 since their 3-0 start, which brings their record to 5-6.
The Dolphins aren't entirely dead yet in the playoff race, but based on the comments made by Stills and the underlying numbers, they appear to be closer to a meltdown than a late-season playoff run.
