MIAMI GARDENS — Dolphins offensive coordinator Frank Smith isn’t overly concerned about quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s recent struggles. The Dolphins (5-7) are riding a three-game winning streak heading into Sunday’s game at the New York Jets. But Tagovailoa is 41 of 64 for 501 yards with two touchdowns, three interceptions and a 78.9 passer rating in that stretch. Tagovailoa said Wednesday “conviction of my footwork, conviction through the progression” has been off recently.

Smith said it all gets back to fundamentals.

“When you’re golfing and your shot is going you don’t think about it,” Smith began, “and then all of a sudden it’s like a throw here or there and you start thinking about things and you get back to your fundamentals.

“I think that basically when you’re assessing how you play, you always go back to your fundamentals, right?…And I think with the quarterback, and Tua specifically, it’s always coming back to my fundamentals because that’s where I can improve to be my best. Because as we’ve shown throughout the last several years when he’s operating it’s an extremely high-level offense.”

Smith in this case it’s not just Tagovailoa’s footwork, something that’s considered crucial for a quarterback in this Dolphins offense, it’s also making sure the footwork is connected to his eyes and dropback depths.

“I connect the quarterback’s drop through the passing game,” Smith said. “And then when you do that, you have different drops, different timings so that way you could connect the skill into what he’s doing, so that way you can play on rhythm.

“It’s basically a giant orchestrated dance, is how you’ve got to look at it. And that’s why our job is to use different launch points, different timings, different stuff, so that way it’s not like you do the same things over and over again. We try and make sure we have variation in what we do, hence why drops are important in connection to what we do. Same thing as a running game, where the running back is running. Tracks help set the angles for blocking, angles for the perimeter, everything. It’s all either a giant dance or a game of geometry.”

Achane earns Player of Month honor

Running back De’Von Achane was named AFC Offensive Player of the Month for November due to his 495 yards rushing and 135 yards receving for 630 yards from scrimmage. Achane has had three consecutive games of at least 120 yards rushing. That’s the first time that’s happened since Dolphins running back Reggie Bush did it in 2011.

Achane is the first Dolphins player to earn the honor since wide receiver Tyreek Hill in October 2023.

Injury update

Defensive tackle Benito Jones (ankle) was the only player not seen during the portion of Thursday’s practice that the media was allowed to watch. Jones played last week despite being limited by the ankle ailment. The official injury report is scheduled to be released around 4 p.m.

Onside kick issues to be addressed

The Dolphins practice onside kick coverage on Friday and Saturday every week. Yet they still didn’t get it right late in last week’s 21-17 victory over New Orleans. Wide receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine jumped out of the way of the loose ball, thinking it was too hot to handle. Meanwhile edge rusher Cameron Goode couldn’t get out of the ball’s path and referees ruled it touched his leg, leading to a New Orleans recovery and a chance to win.

“We’ve just got to be more aggressive,” special teams coach Craig Aukerman said of the onside kick. “Nick looked like he was going to go after it. He felt like it was too hot. He was going to let that go. And then we’ve got another guy that’s behind him where he felt like Nick was going to go after it. The big coaching point is let’s not assume that any one person is going to go after it. We’ve all got to want the ball. That’s going to be the biggest thing. We’re going to coach it up better.”

Biggers showing improvement

Rookie defensive tackle Zeek Biggers, a seventh-round pick, has seen his playing time increase recently. Biggers has played 79 snaps this season. He had a season-high 31 snaps in last week against New Orleans and 23 snaps against Washington in the previous game.

“He’s just put in a ton of work,” defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver said. “Even from a body composition standpoint, he looks different. It’s truly a credit to the kid and all the work he’s done both on and off the field in terms of digesting the playbook, making sure he was sound from an assignment standpoint.”

Weaver said Biggers has always been a capable pass rusher but now his run defense has improved, earning him playing time.

Asked why Biggers didn’t get playing time earlier in the season, Weaver said the NFL isn’t a video game.

“We don’t play Madden, right?” he said, referring to the popular video football game. “I can’t just put him on the field and they automatically know where to go and how to play and what to do. There’s some growth and maturation that needed to occur there. There’s a reason we got the kid where we did, right? But we saw the potential in him. And again, truly a credit to the kid and all the work he’s put in to put himself in this position.”

This story will be updated.