Cote: Miami Dolphins, Huntley hit new low, scoring woes deepen in 31-12 home loss to Titans | Opinion

Where did it go? It is still out there, ostensibly, for all to see. But it has all but disappeared.

It is missing in action, although there isn’t much of that anymore from the Miami Dolphins offense.

Whatever happened to the speedy, explosive, dynamic offense that was the darling of football last season as the NFL’s second-highest scoring team? The one that saw Tyreek Hill with a shot to be the first to break the 2,000-yards receiving barrier? The offense that also boasted one of the top running games in the league?

The attack that confounded defenses and had coach Mike McDaniel looking like a genius ... remember?

That offense was further A.W.O.L. Monday night, and if a 31-12 home loss to previously winless Tennessee is not rock-bottom for Miami, the Dolphins might as well forfeit the rest of the season and save on air fare.

Miami at 1-3 is fast withering from playoff contention even as early as it still is in the season.

Miami’s first two plays Monday were a 14-yard completion to Jaylen Waddle and then a 16-yard run by Tyreek Hill.

That’s where the highlights pretty much ended until the end, when Miami at last crossed the goalline on Tyler Huntley’s 1-yard run with 3:36 left. That was despite the Fins trying to sabotage themselves with three illegal shift penalties in the drive.

Did we mention that Fins defensive star Jaelan Phillips left limping with a knee injury?

Or that the Titans managed to win Monday despite losing its starting QB to injury early? Tennessee rubbed it in with a final score in the final half-minute.

A frustrated Hill was screaming at McDaniel on the sideline during the game.

“I would expect him to be visibly upset at somebody,” said McDaniel afterward. “We just have to go back to the drawing board and do it quickly. We have to quick this fast.”

The only thing that went right for Miami is that the game eventually, mercifully, ended.

Well before it did, Dolfans were leaving in droves in the first minute of the fourth quarter to escape the misery.

The Fins would finish with 198 offensive yards (184 net) on 52 offensive snaps, which is a couple of miles south of awful.

“I know for a fact I play a part in the whole thing,” McDaniel said. “That’s not up to my standard at all.”

The Dolphins announced a crowd of 65,291, although many of those fans appeared to have gone to the stadium dressed as empty aqua seats. Unrest among the crowd simmered. It erupted to full-on booing as the team left the field at halftime after allowing a 26-yard completion that led to a third Titans field goal as time expired.

Oh, and as for third string quarterback Tyler Huntley being the savior? He wasn’t. Snoop, there it isn’t.

Russell Wilson, Andy Dalton, Joe Flacco, Carson Wentz, Jimmy Garoppolo and old friend Ryan Tannehill were among the (somewhat) reliable veterans arms Miami might have signed in the offseason, knowing Tua Tagovailoa’s injury (concussion) history. But didn’t.

Quarterback turmoil will always get disproportionate attention as an easy answer, but Miami’s sharp dropoff on offense predated Tua’s latest concussion two games ago.

The Dolphins averaged a robust 31.5 points across the first 14 games last season. They averaged 15.5 the last four games including the playoffs -- with Tagovailoa and other key players all healthy.

They had averaged 11.0 points in three games entering Monday night, worst in the NFL. Only twice prior had Miami scored fewer than 33 points in the first three games in 59 franchise seasons.

With Monday’s tepid effort, Miami in its past eight games -- tantamount to half of a full season -- has a scoring average of 13.0 points, with 5 1/2 of those eight games including Tua.

Injuries haven’t helped, but that’s the lowest hanging fruit on the excuse tree.

Most everything else is going wrong in addition to the QB mess.

Somehow De”von Achane is averaging only 3.5 yards per carry entering Monday and Miami’s ground game ranked 25th. Hill and Waddle have been almost shockingly underutilized the previous two games, too often unable to beat two-deep safety coverage. The Fins ranked third in defensive sacks last year and were tied for 28th entering Monday. Defensive end Calais Campbell -- who’s been a great addition -- called the run defense “not [up to] our standard.”

Not to mention a spike in penalties and lack of discipline.

So much has been going wrong that predates and cannot entirely be blamed on Tagovailao being out for at least four games.

Saw a headline Monday that read, ‘Dolphins hope to get star playmakers more involved.’

Well, there’s a brainstorm!

And yet Hill and Waddle combined Monday night for only eight catches for 59 yards.

The Dolphins were playing the old hits perhaps in an effort to summon the old offense?

Miami O.G. rapper Trick Daddy led the pregame chant. Then Lee Ofman, who wrote the Miami Dolphins Fight Song many decades ago, performed it live, singing the familiar that haven’t applied for decades about “when you say Miami, you’re talkin’ Super Bowl!”

I’d be satisfied to be talkin’ about a touchdown at this point.

The Dolphins severely miss Tagovailoa, obviously. Backup Skylar Thompson and his sore ribs is not moire than a stopgap answer. Third-stringer Tim Boyle sure isn’t. Tyler Huntley didn’t look like anybody’s version of a solution, either -- although in fairness he is not comfortable with the playbook after only two weeks on the team, and was limited by design.

“I just gotta hone in and get in time with [my receivers] and get more reps,” Huntley said.

Meanwhile, this, too: When Tua comes back after two more games -- assuming he does, still a big if -- can he solve the offensive problem he’s been at least a part of?

The NFL seems to have figured out Miami’s offense, and McDaniel seems to have no answers for that. No way to adjust or figure it out, apparently.

“Very, very challenging to have a situation like this,” said McDaniel. “But I don’t see this lockerroom quitting.”

Winless Tennessee Monday, now a mediocre New England on deck up there -- this is a soft patch of schedule. It might have rekindled hope. Instead Monday night crushed that.

If you can’t beat the Titans at home ... who can you beat?

The Dolphins must answer. Fast.