MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — If nothing else, we here at Pro Football Network are respectful.
Case in point: We allowed Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel to answer two whole questions about Sunday’s 34-15 drubbing of the New England Patriots before moving onto the No. 1 storyline of the next four days:
Will it be the same-old Dolphins Thanksgiving night in frigid Green Bay? Or is this finally the year that McDaniel’s collection of track stars can be bullies in the cold?
“Well, you’re just going to let me really lean into this victory for a while, huh?” McDaniel cracked wise to PFN’s query.
“Yeah, I’m eager for those moments. …. If you believe that you’re not just a front-running team, you have to win when there’s some adversity going on.”
Will Miami Dolphins Buck Cold History?
Adversity has been the name of the game in Miami this fall. But through it all — the four-game IR stint for quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, the pair of three-game losing streaks, the two last-second losses to very good teams in the last month — they stand at 5-6 and just outside of the AFC playoff field as the holiday season gets underway.
The Dolphins had perhaps their best quarter of the McDaniel Era Sunday, outscoring the Patriots 24-0 and outgaining them by a staggering 220 yards in the second quarter here Sunday.
Tua Tagovailoa responds to another monster game pic.twitter.com/MdgoEkRGMP
— Adam Beasley (@AdamHBeasley) November 24, 2024
There’s no doubt, the Dolphins are peaking exactly when they need to. And a once-daunting closing stretch doesn’t look nearly as scary with the Cleveland Browns, New York Jets, Houston Texans, and San Francisco 49ers all underperforming.
But beating the bad teams has never been the problem for McDaniel’s Dolphins.
Sunday was a vintage performance for McDaniel’s offense against the NFL’s dregs — 34 points, 373 yards, 23 first downs, a no-stress fourth quarter.
If history is any guide, Thursday night against the Packers will be a decidedly different story.
The Dolphins lost all six of their road games against playoff teams last year and were completely uncompetitive in a 26-7 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs at frozen Arrowhead in the playoff game.
Afterward, Tyreek Hill acknowledged that for the Dolphins to take the next step, “we can’t just be a bunch of front-runners.”
Ten months later, McDaniel echoed those comments.
“I’ve already told the team, there’s two things that will be said until we do something about it, [beat] good teams and [win in] cold weather,” McDaniel said. “It doesn’t bother me in any way, shape, or form. We have some plans on how to attack this week, but I relish that opportunity because, yeah, there’s one way to correct that.
“I know there’s a locker room full of people that believe and are eager to set that narrative straight, but there’s only one way to do it, and there’s only one way you’d want it to be done is you want to go earn that sentiment or maybe some take-back from some people that have strong opinions, or they’re going to be right and it’s your choice as a team.”
Legacy Game for Mike McDaniel, Tua Tagovailoa
Reason for optimism for the Dolphins?
Tua Tagovailoa has never played better, and the offense has never been more sustainable from a schematic standpoint.
Tagovailoa since returning from IR has completed a staggering 76.5% of his passes with 11 touchdowns, one interception, a 7.5 yards-per-attempt average, and a passer rating of 116.2.
Can the gifted lefty from Hawaii maintain that excellence Thursday in Green Bay, where the wind chill at kickoff is expected to be in the teens? Can McDaniel finally shake the big-game blues?
Tune in after dinner Thursday night.
“I’m excited to kill narratives, so let’s go,” Tagovailoa said. “Bring it on.”
Added McDaniel: “Our record now is 5-6, and the Packers aren’t going to care about our three-game win streak. The Packers are going to want to make us the team that can’t win in the cold or beat good teams. We’ll have an opportunity on Thursday to either prove them right or wrong, as well as everybody else in front of a bunch of families that are digesting and judgmental.”