MIAMI GARDENS -- It was the Dolphins' opening drive in one of the biggest games of the season, Buffalo. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa threw a pass behind wide receiver Grant DuBose. It bounced off DuBose's shoulder and was intercepted, setting the stage for a disappointing Dolphins loss (31-10) and a disappointing Dolphins season (8-9).

The play was a snapshot of a crisis we don't discuss often enough about the Dolphins: Their top three offensive players -- Tua and wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, the guys who got big, new contracts last summer -- regularly shrink against playoff-caliber competition.

Waddle had a crucial late-game fumble against Minnesota in 2022.

In 2023, Tyreek had dropped passes against Dallas, Kansas City, Philadelphia and Baltimore.

Last season, Tua had three-interception games against Buffalo and Houston.

On and on the list goes.

During the last two seasons, Tua has a modest 15 touchdowns and 14 interceptions against playoff teams, and neither Tyreek nor Waddle has a 100-yard receiving game against a playoff team during that span.

You need your best (and best-paid) players to come through in big games. That doesn't happen with the Dolphins.

This remains possibly the No. 1 issue on this team. It prevents the Dolphins from being legit.

If the Dolphins can't solve this problem in 2025, they'll miss the playoffs for the second consecutive season and jobs will be lost.

Here are some ugly numbers from the 2024 season:

-- Tua had a 1-4 record, seven touchdowns and seven interceptions in five games against playoff opponents.

-- Tyreek had 31 receptions for 239 yards and two touchdowns in five games against playoff opponents;

-- Waddle had 18 receptions for 147 yards and one touchdown in five games against playoff opponents.

Those disappointing results aren't isolated, rather they're part of a troubling three-year trend.

Make no mistake, this is a major issue.

The Dolphins' Big Three haven't led Miami to a victory in a big game since the Baltimore win in September 2022, the second game of the coach Mike McDaniel era.

In fact, that's the only big game in which the Big Three have led the Dolphins to victory in the past three seasons.

Considering Tua will cost the Dolphins $39.4 million against the salary cap, Tyreek will cost $28.6 million against the cap, and Waddle will cost $8 million, that's a bad return on investment.

Worse, those salary-cap hits from Tua and Tyreek limit the Dolphins' future high-dollar acquisitions, so there's more of a need for those two to be dynamic.

But both Tua and Tyreek have been far from dynamic against the best teams on the Dolphins' schedule.

Each of the Big Three has a season's worth of statistics against playoff teams over the last three seasons. The results are unimpressive.

Tua has a 4-13 (.235) record against playoff teams with 26 touchdowns, 19 interceptions and an 89.7 passer rating in 17 games.

Tyreek has 144 receptions for 1,691 yards and 10 touchdowns in 20 games against playoff teams.

Waddle has 62 receptions for 1,108 yards and four touchdowns in 17 games against playoff teams.

Those numbers are so-so, but obviously not good enough to deliver a playoff victory.

For all the talk about general manager Chris Grier, the offensive line and injuries, the inability of the Big Three to lead the Dolphins to victories against the best teams on their schedule is a bigger concern than any of the above issues.

If the Dolphins can't find a way to get Tua, Tyreek and Waddle to produce in big games, all of their roster moves are irrelevant.

Drilling down, it's tough to say whether the bigger concern is Tua or Tyreek.

I go with Tyreek.

Obviously, the quarterback is usually the most important player on a team.

This, however, might be an exception.

Tyreek, after three seasons in a Miami uniform, remains the Dolphins' best player. We can all agree on that.

The Dolphins are better with Tyreek than without him.

We can all agree on that, too.

Over the past two seasons the Dolphins are 11-0 in games in which Tyreek has 100 or more yards receiving.

Over that same span the Dolphins are 7-16 (.304) in games in which Tyreek has 99 or fewer yards receiving.

But for those who consider Tua's struggles against playoff teams a bigger concern than Tyreek's struggles, there's merit to that thinking.

Tua's stats against playoff teams are abysmal, especially away from Hard Rock Stadium. He's 1-8 on the road in the past two years against playoff teams with 12 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

There's no magic, there's no creativity, there's no fear for the defense.

The Dolphins' list of Biggest Concerns for 2025 is already full. They might need two starting-caliber guards, two starting-caliber safeties, a starting-caliber slot receiver, a workhorse running back, a backup quarterback, interior defensive line help and a special teams coordinator.