The Dolphins of Miami They have looked like NFL title contenders for virtually the entire tournament so far. The exeption? When they face other teams with serious aspirations to be present in the Super Bowl.
The South Florida team has not found the formula to perform against the big teams, a problem that has not received much importance from coach Mike McDaniel in his statements to the press, but that has set off alarms among the team’s fans. .
On Sunday, in the 21-14 loss to the Bills, which ended up costing the Dolphins the division title, those same drawbacks came to light again.
“There are a lot of things we’re going to evaluate because it’s extremely disappointing,” McDaniel told The Associated Press after the setback. “But I think that’s part of the NFL. If you give an inch, you’re going to pay for it. We didn’t take care of the games we really needed and that happens.”
A month ago, the Dolphins were in position to claim the top spot in the AFC and had a two-and-a-half-game lead over Buffalo in the East. But offensive deficiencies, mainly, have taken their toll.
Now, instead of starting the postseason at home, the Dolphins will have to travel to Kansas City for a showdown with the defending champion Chiefs on Saturday night.
Either way, McDaniel continues to show no concern for the Dolphins’ failure in the biggest moments. The fans, meanwhile, have no choice but to trust the coach, since no duel will be as important in this season so far as this upcoming Saturday match.
“When we watch the film the day after we play these teams, we can still find successful things that we did,” tight end Durham Smythe said. “It’s always a little thing here and a little thing there. Because it’s not a matter where we’re not scoring a lot against them. They’re just outpowering us,” he added.
A fundamental part of preventing that from happening on Saturday will again be in the hands of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who threw two interceptions in the last two games.
“When you’re a player of his caliber, that our team depends so much on, that can be deceiving in terms of the amount of looks he gets. He’s proven time and time again why we keep coming to him,” McDaniel said.
