The Miami Dolphins dropped their fifth consecutive game on Sunday to open the 2019 season — a 17-16 loss at the hands of the Washington Redskins. And while Miami was lifeless on offense for 45 minutes, Dolphins head coach Brian Flores should be applauded for his aggressiveness throughout the game to stay hot in pursuit of the team’s first win of 2019. Because Flores didn’t take this loss lying down, he pulled out all the stops in hopes of a big breakthrough on the field.

Remember, the Dolphins faked a punt on the Washington 45-yard line, direct snapping the ball to Kalen Ballage, who was sent in motion across the set. Miami also converted a fourth-and-short in this contest. The Dolphins tried to steal a possession at one point with a successful onside kick attempt, but a penalty nixed the recovery and forced a re-kick, which was sent deep.

And lest we forget the most aggressive move of all: pulling the plug on Josh Rosen in the fourth quarter against Washington in favor of Ryan Fitzpatrick before ultimately going for two points and the win with six seconds remaining in the contest. That effort ultimately fell short. But Miami fans should be encouraged at this level of aggressiveness. Once there are more suitable long-term pieces on this roster, these kinds of decisions (maybe not pulling the starting quarterback) can lead to exciting results. Such an aggressive mentality is something that has been missing from Miami coaches for quite some time.

Remember Adam Gase’s play-calling late in the game against the Colts in 2018? Remember how Joe Philbin felt “a little queasy” late against Green Bay and mandated a running play on a critical third-and-9 late in the game? The Dolphins lost both of those games. How many times did Tony Sparano’s group settle for long field goals?

Flores is coaching to win. His roster isn’t built for that, but we should be applauding the aggressive mentality to go out and win games, not give them away.

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