Dolphins' Jordyn Brooks Says Team Still Has No Identity in Winless Season

The Miami Dolphins dropped their fifth straight loss, this time to the Cincinnati Bengals. After nearly catching the Bengals, turnovers, miscues, and more saw the win slip away.

Following the loss, multiple Dolphins players spoke to the media, including linebacker Jordyn Brooks. Brooks stated that the team remains without an identity to follow, as they have not won a game.

One of the biggest questions that new head coach Jeff Hafley faced in the offseason was what kind of identity he planned to establish in South Florida. While it was believed to be one of toughness and physicality, that has yet to translate into wins.

The silver lining for this Miami roster is that the young and inexperienced players are gaining valuable reps, and the team continues to fight each week. The Dolphins were down by one score through most of the first half. 

Miami also caught back up in the fourth quarter and cut their deficit to a touchdown with two minutes left. Regardless, they could not close out the game, and Brooks believes they have yet to develop an identity.

"I feel like if you don't win, you don't really have an identity yet. You know what I mean? I think one thing we can hang our hat on is that we played tough. I don't think anybody out there is not giving 100 percent effort. One thing that I know from this group for sure is that we're gonna fight till the end," Brooks said. 

Despite Brooks saying that the Dolphins do not have an identity without wins, their identity could be his second point.

Brooks himself is a testament to playing tough, as he left the game with a foot injury, but returned in the third quarter to help provide the team the support for a win. 

Each week, the team appears to be inching closer to a win, though they have not been able to close anyone out. Week 4 saw the Dolphins lose to the Minnesota Vikings with a 15-10 final score.

Week 5 was decided by a touchdown. As has been stated multiple times, there are no moral victories in the NFL, but the Dolphins continue to show they are a few pieces or moments away from potentially winning a game.

If they can use the bye week as an opportunity to band together even more, the second half of the season could be more lucrative in terms of the win column. The issue for the Dolphins is that their schedule does them no favors.

After the Week 6 bye, the Dolphins will face the New York Jets, New England Patriots, Detroit Lions, and Indianapolis Colts. 

To their credit, Miami has also faced teams that are doing very well through five games thus far. The Las Vegas Raiders are 3-2, the San Francisco 49ers are 4-0, the Kansas City Chiefs are 4-0, the Minnesota Vikings are 5-0, and the Bengals are now 3-2 after their victory in South Florida.

Several of these games remained close, including Weeks 4 and 5. Again, there are no moral victories, but Brooks' statement about a lack of identity might be a bit inaccurate. The Dolphins remain a tough team despite their losing skid.