Dave Hyde: ‘Same old story’ in Dolphins’ sloppy loss to Indy — can Tua save this season?

INDIANAPOLIS — This time, they dropped two fumbles like tombstones on their Sunday.

“It wasn’t acceptable,” said fullback Alec Ingold, who had one of the fumbles.

This time, their top player, Tyreek Hill, had no passes thrown his way until late in the game and no words afterward beyond hurried ones as he fled the locker room: “Y’all don’t want me to talk today.”

This time, their 10-0 lead against mediocre Indianapolis crumbled under the weight of mistakes and lost opportunities into a 16-10 loss.

“Same old story, we let one slip away we should have won,” defensive tackle Calais Campbell said.

So, the Miami Dolphins (2-4) tanked without Tua. Once upon a time they tanked for him. Sunday assured they went 1-3 without Tua Tagovailoa thanks in part to a backup quarterback plan with all the involved thought of playing with your food at dinner and enough accompanying bad luck that back-up Tyler Huntley was added to the injury pile Sunday.

After Sunday’s loss, Dolphins owner Steve Ross slipped through a side of the locker room with general manager Chris Grier. Their plans are in trouble, their thinking sinking. The question a season now hinges on is how much one returning quarterback can mean.

First, do the math. They’re 2-4. They’d have to go: 9-2 the rest of the way to match last year’s 11-6 record; 8-3 to get the double-digits wins AFC teams had to last year to make the playoffs; 7-4 to give them any hope for a playoff spot with nine wins.

Tua surely can get this offense oriented again. He can mean six points against a team like Indianapolis. But send this that didn’t play well with him in it to start the year on a winning spree to the end of the year?

Could he keep tight end Julian Hill from getting his eighth penalty in six games on Sunday? Or good veterans like Raheem Mostert and Ingold from having poorly timed fumbles — one putting the Colts back in the game with a touchdown, the other taking at minimum a field goal from the Dolphins on a day three points were gold.

“We’ve just got to clean up a lot of stuff,” Mostert said. “Me, personally, I can’t put the ball on that ground. That’s the biggest thing. It’s just one of those things where you got to under severity of the game and keep it moving.”

Then there’s a defense that’s played fine enough by the numbers. It ranked fifth in yards allowed entering Sunday. It’s also had the good fortune to play the likes of quarterbacks Mason Rudolph, Jacoby Brissett and the Colts’ Anthony Richardson.

But go beyond the numbers and some details make you realize defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver has done a good job hiding some blemishes. Jalen Ramsey, for instance, led the team with four pressures Sunday on Richardson.

A cornerback. That’s good work by him. It’s also a sign of something larger at work, of a defense where the usual outlets for applying pressure aren’t necessarily in play. Only two teams have fewer sacks than the Dolphins.

They’re going to play some good quarterbacks coming up, too. Maybe even next week against Arizona’s Kyler Murray. Certainly the week after against Buffalo’s Josh Allen.

But the Dolphins get their quarterback, too, and that will be a difference. Tua stood on the sideline one final Sunday in street clothes before his expected return this week, saying little to teammates, then showing even less as he sat silently at his locker.

Dolphins Deep Dive: Dave Hyde and David Furones break down Miami’s loss to Colts | VIDEO

He’s been a presence inside this team. Terron Armstead remembers him saying in the locker room after beating New England how, “We’re going to keep running the ball just like that,” when he returns. Campbell has talked with him about life beyond football — “family, finances, faith.”

“He’s made his appearances and he’s spoke,” Mostert said. “But it’s a thing where he’s just trying to figure himself out, too.”

His health. His mindset. His larger role for this team, too.

This is an offense built for him and Sunday showed that again. Huntley threw five passes to tight ends in the first half — four, including a touchdown, to Jonnu Smith — but none to Tyreek Hill or Jaylen Waddle. The Dolphins ran the ball effectively, just as they should have against the Colts’ 31st ranked rushing defense.

But the only way Hill got the ball in the first half was with an end-around run that went 5 yards. Waddle, when Tim Boyle replaced Huntley, caught his only ball for 11 yards.

Rookie Malik Washington caught two passes for 9 yards Sunday to nearly match the output of Waddle and Hill combined. That can’t happen. It surely won’t when Tua returns.

“Mike (McDaniel) built a system that he thrives in, and I think it’ll be huge to have that spark when he comes back,” Campbell said. “You hope. That’s it, you hope. Obviously, we’ve got biggest issues that we’ve got to fix. But I do think he’d bring a spark.”

This team needs a spark. Tua can provide that. It also needs clearer thinking and smarter fundamentals. It didn’t have those when Tua was part of the team early this season or dating back to the end of last season.

After Sunday’s loss, Ross slipped through a side of the locker room with Grier. Their plans looked wrecked, their thinking slipshod. The question a season now hinges on is how much one returning quarterback can mean to the season.