TAMPA, Fla. — It had been perhaps the longest and darkest 11 days in the history of the once-storied history of the Dolphins, and there was a palpable desperation on the part of the beleaguered franchise to move on.
The first sign of effort to do that began with Miami team owner Stephen Ross standing before scores of reporters two-and-a-half hours before his Dolphins were to play the winless Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium, and sternly discussing the Richie Incognito-Jonathan Martin saga that has threatened to rip his team apart.
Then, thankfully, there would finally be a football game to play for the Dolphins, who last played on Halloween and since then have been hammered with questions, speculation and innuendo about the alleged Incognito bullying of Martin and the perceived vulgar culture of their locker room.
If only for three precious hours of football, Monday night’s game was a chance to change the narrative from scandal, suspensions, racial epithets, sexual harassment and jeopardized careers to blocking, tackling, running, passing, catching …
… and winning.
Alas, though, the Dolphins could not complete the last task, handing the Buccaneers their first win of the season after eight consecutive losses, 22-19.
And now the miserable beat goes on for the 4-5 Dolphins, losers of four of their last five, with no resolution to the Incognito-Martin mess in sight.
“We were so ready to play this game,’’ Dolphins center Mike Pouncey said. “It’s very frustrating to lose a game with our backs to the wall like this.’’
Asked about being without Incognito and Martin, two starters on the offensive line, Dolphins tackle Bryant McKinnie said, “Those guys aren’t here to help us win, so we go with who we have.’’
What they had, though, was not good enough — particularly on the offensive line, as evidenced by the 2 rushing yards Miami managed on 14 carries and the two game-clinching sacks the Buccaneers made of Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill on Miami’s final offensive possession.
There were many inside the Dolphins organization who believed the scandal would galvanize the team, yet it was difficult to decipher which was the winless team in this game after the Bucs jumped to a 15-0 lead in the second quarter.
The Bucs, who were coming off their bye week, seemed to be lying in wait for the wounded Dolphins, who early in the game looked every bit like a team fried by a week’s worth of intense national scrutiny that would make TMZ and National Enquirer editors squirm.
The Bucs took the opening kickoff and went 76 yards on nine plays and took a 7-0 lead on a nifty 1-yard tackle-eligible pass play from rookie quarterback Mike Glennon to 6-foot-5, 340-pound Donald Penn.
A field goal made it 10-0 and then a blistering defensive play by Bucs linebacker Lavonte David, who tackled Miami running back Daniel Thomas in the end zone for a safety, made it 12-0.
David, Jets fans might remember, handed them their first victory of the season when he was called for that late hit on quarterback Geno Smith in the waning seconds to allow the Jets to kick the game-winning field goal.
The Dolphins would find their footing, taking a 19-15 lead late in the third quarter, but they could not hold on. The game would not provide the therapeutic respite they so badly needed.
Ross, a New Yorker, did his best before the game to move his franchise forward, delivering at least some partial disclosure to the torrid goings on with his team at a time when his head coach and general manager have clammed up on the matter.
When asked after the game what he’s hoping to get out of the investigations taking place, Dolphins defensive tackle Jared Odrick said, “A resolution.’’
That is not likely to come soon, but the Dolphins did desperately need someone to stand up and address the elephant in the room, and who better than the owner? Ross looked and sounded sincerely rattled by this incident that has drawn more national attention than a Kennedy scandal.
Ross revealed he has assembled a group of football luminaries to craft a “21st century” code of conduct to help improve the team culture — a group that includes Dolphins icons Don Shula, Dan Marino and Jason Taylor, along with retired Colts coach Tony Dungy and Hall of Famer Curtis Martin.
No word on whether or not Gandhi, Nelson Mandela or Billy Graham were approached to join the group.