Dolphins Fall to 0-4 for the First Time Since 2019 as Will Reichard's Five Field Goals Lift Unbeaten Vikings, 15-10

The Miami Dolphins are 0-4 for the first time in seven years. Minnesota kicker Will Reichard made all five of his field goal attempts and the unbeaten Vikings held on for a 15-10 win over Miami on Sunday, Oct. 4, at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, handing first-year coach Jeff Hafley another close loss in a season that has yet to produce a victory.

It is the franchise's worst start since the 2019 team opened 0-7 under Brian Flores, according to The Associated Press. Minnesota improved to 4-0, the 11th time in franchise history the Vikings have won their first four games, without scoring a touchdown.

Reichard supplies every Vikings point

Reichard connected from 47, 50, 33, 41 and 29 yards, accounting for all 15 of Minnesota's points. The streak behind those kicks has grown to 31 consecutive made field goals, which ties Fuad Reveiz for the second-longest run in Vikings history, according to the AP.

Quarterback Kyler Murray completed 27 of 37 passes for 247 yards without a turnover, but Miami's defense kept forcing Minnesota to settle. Murray was sacked four times for 34 yards, and drive after drive ended with Reichard jogging onto the field.

Tight end T.J. Hockenson was the problem Miami could not solve. He tied his career high with 13 receptions for 119 yards and made the play that ended the game: an 8-yard catch on third-and-5 from the Miami 10 late in the fourth quarter. Rather than score, Hockenson slid down short of the goal line so the Vikings could drain the clock to the two-minute warning, the AP reported, leaving the Dolphins without a final possession that mattered.

Ollie Gordon II breaks out with Achane sidelined

The brightest development for Miami came from second-year running back Ollie Gordon II, who has moved into a featured role since star De'Von Achane tore an ACL in the first quarter of the Week 3 loss to Kansas City, an injury that ended Achane's season.

Gordon ran nine times for 100 yards and a touchdown, an average of 11.1 yards per carry. His career-long 53-yard run on third-and-5 set up a 27-yard field goal by Riley Patterson, and on the next possession he finished a drive with a 12-yard touchdown run in the third quarter that pulled Miami within 12-10. The Dolphins never got closer.

Receiver Malik Washington led Miami with five catches for 67 yards, including back-to-back 17-yard receptions on the touchdown drive. The Dolphins remain without receiver Caleb Douglas, who has been out with an ankle injury suffered in Week 2 after a 94-yard opener, according to a Yahoo Sports analysis of the game.

Malik Willis struggles again

The passing game produced almost nothing. Quarterback Malik Willis, who signed a three-year, $67 million deal in the offseason to replace Tua Tagovailoa, completed 9 of 17 passes for 85 yards. He was sacked twice, both times by Vikings edge rusher Dallas Turner, and lost a fumble on one of them that linebacker Blake Cashman recovered. Willis added 11 yards on two runs.

Through four games, Willis has completed 56.3 percent of his passes with one touchdown pass and a 73.0 passer rating, according to NBC Sports, numbers that rank near the bottom of the league among qualifying starters. After the game, Willis described the frustration of the team improving without results, telling reporters the Dolphins are "continuing to get better without actually gaining wins on the win column," according to the AP.

Miami also hurt itself with nine penalties for 55 yards.

A defense that finally got home

If there was a reason for Hafley, the former Green Bay defensive coordinator, to point to progress, it was on his side of the ball. Miami entered the game without a sack through three weeks and left with four. Defensive lineman Zach Sieler had two, including one on Minnesota's first play from scrimmage. Josh Uche dropped Murray on a third-and-11, and Chop Robinson added an 11-yard sack.

Rookie linebacker Jacob Rodriguez finished with 18 tackles, nine of them solo. The team said it was the most tackles by a Dolphins rookie in a game since 1994.

The weak spot was again the middle of the field. Hockenson's day continued a pattern of opposing tight ends finding room against Miami, after Kansas City's Travis Kelce and San Francisco's George Kittle each scored against the Dolphins earlier this season, according to Yahoo Sports.

How Miami got to 0-4

The Dolphins have lost to four opponents playing at a high level, three of them on the road. The results so far:

Sunday's five-point loss was the closest of the four, and it came against a team that has not lost. The roster Hafley is coaching is the product of sweeping change. Miami fired Mike McDaniel on Jan. 8 after he went 35-33 in four seasons, hired general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan on Jan. 9 and named Hafley, then Green Bay's defensive coordinator and formerly the head coach at Boston College, as the franchise's 12th head coach on Jan. 19.

The rebuild that followed reshaped the roster. The Dolphins released receiver Tyreek Hill in February, released Tagovailoa on March 12, after which he signed with the Atlanta Falcons, and traded receiver Jaylen Waddle to the Denver Broncos on March 18 for draft picks. It is Miami's first season since 2019 without Tagovailoa on the roster.

After Sunday, the Dolphins are one of four winless teams in the NFL, along with the Los Angeles Chargers, the Houston Texans and their in-state neighbors in Tampa Bay, who fell 17-14 to Green Bay on Sunday.

What's next

Miami returns home to host the Cincinnati Bengals (2-2) at 1 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 11, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. The Bengals are coming off a 22-17 home loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in which quarterback Joe Burrow threw for 428 yards but All-Pro receiver Ja'Marr Chase left with a concussion in the second quarter.

The Dolphins then get their bye in Week 6 before traveling to face the New York Jets on Oct. 25 and returning home to play the New England Patriots on Nov. 1. Minnesota visits the New Orleans Saints next Sunday.

The Bengals game is the clearest chance yet for Hafley's first win. A loss would send Miami into its bye at 0-5, and the questions about Willis and the passing game would follow the team through the off week.