The Miami Dolphins (1-3) suffered another painful loss in Week 4 as they fell to the Indianapolis Colts on their homefield, marking their third consecutive loss after a Week 1 win over the New England Patriots.

The Miami offense struggled immensely again, falling down 17-3 before succumbing to a final score of 27-17. Backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett completed 20 of his 30 passes for 199 yards and two touchdowns. However, he was sacked three times as the Dolphins' offensive line continues to hold them back.

The Dolphins rushed for just 35 yards on 16 carries vs. the Colts on Sunday, totaling just 203 yards from scrimmage.

Miami's defense, which was the backbone of their 10-6 season in 2020, also struggled on Sunday. They allowed Carson Wentz to complete 24 of 32 passes for 228 yards and two touchdowns. The Colts also rushed for 139 yards, with Jonathan Taylor rushing for 103 of those to go along with a touchdown. Miami has now allowed at least 27 points in three straight games, which have all been losses.

With this loss moving the Dolphins to 1-3, let's look at some key takeaways as the team heads into the meat of the schedule.

3. It's getting late early

The schedule isn't getting any easier for the Dolphins. Over the next four weeks, they'll face both the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Buffalo Bills on the road, who each look like one of the best three or four teams in the entire NFL.

They do have Atlanta Falcons and Jacksonville Jaguars at home in between those games, but those are anything but easy wins for what has been a lowly Dolphins squad so far in 2021. The second half of the schedule isn't too bad, as they have the Houston Texans, New York Jets, New York Giants and the Carolina Panthers all at home, as well as a game with the New York Jets on the road. However, if the losses keep piling up in the mean time, they'll need to be nearly perfect to get back into the AFC playoff race.

2. The offense is (still) in trouble

Miami has had one of, if not the most anemic offensive attack in the NFL through four weeks. The Dolphins came into the day 29th in the NFL in yards and 30th in points.

Brissett has actually been decent, as was Tua Tagovailoa in the Week 1 win, but the inconsistent and at times just flat out horrible offensive line play has left the quarterbacks with little time in the pocket throughout the season. If Miami can't figure out a way to shore up the front offensively, it may be a long, brutal campaign.

1. Don't expect Tua to be the Dolphins' savior

This takeaway ties in with the previous one. The Dolphins can't expect Tua Tagovailoa to come off the Injured Reserve (he's eligible to do so after Week 5) and turn everything around.

Brissett has done about as much as you could expect considering the offensive line play and lack of a run game. Some teams rank in the bottom of the league in rushing because they are so good at passing, but that is not the case with the Dolphins. They would love to run the ball to take some pressure off of their quarterbacks and potentially unlock the play action passing game for some big plays, but they simply cannot run the football with any consistency.

There are a lot of things to be concerned about for the Dolphins, and they aren't all on the offensive side of the ball. The defense, which extended their turnover streak today with a fumble recovery versus the Colts, would obviously benefit from Miami being able to run the ball and put together longer drives more consistently.

If the Dolphins lose to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 5 like most would expect, they will fall to 1-4 on the season and face an extremely uphill battle towards getting back into the playoff picture. The postseason seemed like a realistic goal for Miami in 2021 coming off a winning season, but those hopes are slowly fading for Miami.