Dolphins lose big to Saints, but it is still just one ‘L'

The Miami Dolphins lost 38-17 last night to the New Orleans Saints on Monday Night Football.  Simply put, it was ugly.  It was a Dolphins team completely outmatched by the Saints.  Which brings up the question - Why are we surprised?

Look, I wanted the Dolphins to win.  I wanted them to look good on a nationally televised game.  But, this was the Saints in the Superdome.  With Sean Payton.  The Payton coached Saints have not lost in the Superdome in 12 straight games - skipping the Payton-less Saints of last year.  This team does not lose at home.  Why are we surprised they won?

There have been six 5,000 yard passing seasons in NFL history, and Drew Brees has three.  He has three of the top 50 all time single game passing yardage marks.  Why are we surprised that he was able to throw the ball well?

I get it, we all wanted to see the Dolphins play well in front of a national audience.  Maybe get some respect from the national media, and prove that the Dolphins are for real.  Yet, did losing to the Saints 38-17 somehow change the fact that the Dolphins are now 3-1, and will have a winning record through their first five games, a stretch where most fans said 2-3 would be considered a great showing?

Who cares if the national media doesn't talk about the Dolphins?  They haven't through the first three wins, and you know what, those wins still count as wins.  Let them say whatever they want.  Let them forget about the Dolphins for a couple more weeks.  Let the team grow without the spotlight of the national stage.

If the Dolphins beat the defending Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens this upcoming week, they will be sitting at 4-1.  Does one loss to the Saints, no matter what the score, mean more than those four wins?  Even if they lose to the Ravens, the team is still 3-2.  Will that ruin the season for you?

Why?

The Dolphins are young, and they looked it last night.  Being thrown into the national spotlight at 3-0, on Monday Night Football, against a 3-0 team, in the Superdome, made the team a little wide eyed, and they played like that.  They will get better in big time games, and a beating like they suffered last night could actually be a good thing, in the long run.

Things don't always go right, and they did not go right last night in a big way for the Dolphins.  But, in the end, no matter what the final score, it still only counts as one L.  Now, it's time for us as a fan base, and the team as a whole, to lick their wounds and look ahead at the Ravens.

A big loss like last night's really leaves only one question.  How will the team respond?