MIAMI GARDENS — The Dolphins’ playoffs hopes were already gone when their 45-21 loss to Cincinnati kicked off Sunday afternoon. Their performance reflected those dashed hopes.

The Dolphins (6-8), now assured of their second consecutive losing season, got whipped, 28-7, in the second half.

Rookie quarterback Quinn Ewers was OK in the first half and rough in the second half. The run game was OK in the first half and rough in the second half. 

Oh, yeah, the performance from coach Mike McDaniel also had a rough performance. 

The postgame locker room was sullen. Veterans had that lost, disappointed look in their eyes, that look that said they realize the franchise might not be trying to win these final few games. They spoke in quiet tones. Their words were brief. Hope is vanishing.

Here’s the report card from the Bengals game.

Run game: D

The Dolphins had a respectable 129 yards on 28 carries with one touchdown. But let’s go inside the numbers. Running back De’Von Achane (15 carries, 81 yards, one touchdown) had six carries for 16 yards in the second half. Fellow running back Jaylen Wright (nine carries, 35 yards) tried to impact the run game to no avail. Most of the Dolphins’ yards came on three runs – a 48-yard touchdown by Achane, a 10-yard gain by Wright and a nine-yard gain by wide receiver Malik Washington. Aside from those runs the Dolphins totaled 25 carries for 62 yards. That’s ugliness.

Pass game: D-

Rookie quarterback Quinn Ewers (20 of 30, 260 yards, no touchdowns, two interceptions) showed promise and youthful inexperience. The latter outweighed the former. But that’s to be expected. Wide receiver Jaylen Waddle (five receptions, 72 yards) had good numbers but almost no impact. And he had a fumble. He was targeted nine times on his five receptions. That’s not a good return on investment. Tight end Greg Dulcich (three receptions, 46 yards) continued to show promise despite losing a fumble. Tight end Darren Waller (three receptions, 40 yards) surfaced at times. Pass protection was OK. Ewers had no sacks and absorbed just four hits.

Run defense: D

Here we go again. Cincinnati rushed for 105 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries. Four of the last seven opponents have rushed for more than 100 yards against the Dolphins, and Miami is 1-3 in those games. See the connection? Cincinnati didn’t do anything special. The Bengals had 10 carries for 39 yards (3.9 yards per carry) in the first half and 16 carries for 66 yards (4.1 ypc) in the second half. Running back Chase Brown (12 carries, 66 yards, one touchdown) was so-so. Linebacker Jordyn Brooks, the NFL leader in tackles (169), had a game-best 14 tackles. 

Pass defense: F

Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (25 of 32, 309 yards, four touchdowns, no interceptions, 146.5 passer rating) carved up the Dolphins defense. Wide receiver Ja/Marr Chase (nine receptions, 109 yards) did the same, and fellow wide receiver Tee Higgins (three receptions, 53 yards, one touchdown) also made his voice heard. But Brown (four receptions, 43 yards, two touchdowns) was the unexpected contributor. Defensive tackle Zach Sieler (one sack) surfaced. But overall this was a pretty bad performance for the pass defense.  

Special teams: B

There’s nothing much to report here except the special teams didn’t make a game-changing play in a losing effort. Punter Jake Bailey, who should earn Pro Bowl consideration, had four punts for 201 yards, including one inside the 20-yard line. The Dolphins had a mind-blowing eight kickoff returns and averaged a respectable 27.3 yards per return. The Dolphins had no punt returns. 

Coaching: D

For the second consecutive week McDaniel was overmatched in the second half as his team was blown out and embarrassed. Last week it was Pittsburgh outscoring Miami, 21-12. In Sunday’s second half, Burrow was 9 of 10 for 116 yards, three touchdowns and a 154.6 passer rating. Brown had seven carries for 44 yards (6.3 ypc) to go along with four receptions for 43 yards and two touchdowns. Chase had two receptions for 51 yards. Defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver must also be held responsible here. But McDaniel is the man in charge, so this goes on his record. Bad stuff. 

Stock up: De’Von Achane

Achane (18 touches, 90 yards) is the choice by default. Brooks had a coverage bust. Waddle and Dulcich had fumbles. Defensive tackle Zach Sieler (one sack, three tackles) was part of a so-so run defense. Center Aaron Brewer and left tackle Patrick Paul were good, as usual. But Achane was better in his limited usage.

Stock down: Mike McDaniel

You get the feeling that this ship, with McDaniel serving as captain, is going down. But word from the national media is that owner Stephen Ross will bring McDaniel and his 34-32 (.515) regular season record back for next season. Meanwhile, the second-half struggles continue. The Dolphins were not only outscored by three touchdowns in Sunday’s second half, they were beaten in the turnover battle, 0-3.