The Miami Dolphins righted the ship with a big 23-15 win over the Los Angeles Rams on Monday night, moving into second place in the AFC East and just one game back in the loss column of the Denver Broncos for the final playoff spot.

However, the news wasn’t all good the day after for Miami.  Far from it, actually.

Mike McDaniel announced that the team would be without two starters, and for very different time frames.  Kendall Fuller is in concussion protocol for the second time this season and will miss Sunday’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders, at minimum.  Fuller missed the Dolphins 24-3 loss against Seattle dealing with a concussion.  McDaniel wasn’t willing to give an estimated timetable for his return.

“So, he’s in the protocol,” McDaniel said during his press conference on Tuesday. “Basically, I’m just concerned for his wellbeing. Don’t really have a timeline. Since it was a Monday night game, I can pretty much rule him out for this game, and beyond that, we’ll just be supporting where he’s at and getting more information.”

However, the news is significantly worse regarding RT Austin Jackson’s prospects on returning, whom the team placed on injured reserve on Monday.  Mike McDaniel noted he will be having surgery on his injured knee and expects him to be out for the rest of the season.

“We worked through that. He will have surgery, and I don’t expect him to return based upon the timeline of that surgery. We’ve got a bunch of different opinions, and I don’t think he’ll be back this year.”

As such, the Dolphins will be forced to rely heavily on swing tackle Kendall Lamm on the right side the rest of the season, rather than just for the next four games.  According to Pro Football Focus, Lamm allowed 3 pressures on Monday night against the Rams.

“Next man up” was unfortunately a far overused phrase during Mike McDaniel’s first two years as head coach.  Through two months in year three, that statement sadly continues to be applicable to the Miami Dolphins.