The Miami Dolphins suffered yet another loss on Sunday, as they were defeated by the Green Bay Packers, 26-20, at Hard Rock Stadium.
A four-game losing streak has the Dolphins on the ropes of playoff contention after once being the top seed in the conference. Now, their road to ending their postseason drought is more difficult, and faith that they’ll do anything beyond getting in is low.
While Christmas Day didn’t bring Dolphins fans the gift that they were hoping for, there were a few things that could be learned from the contest.
Tua Tagovailoa is turning back into a pumpkin at the wrong time.
The Cinderella season that Tagovailoa appeared to be having, resulting in legitimate MVP discussions, has come to an abrupt halt. He completed 16 of his 25 attempts on Sunday for 310 yards and a touchdown, but it was the three fourth-quarter interceptions that really hurt the team.
During the losing streak, Tagovailoa has completed just 52.6% of his passes for 984 yards, six touchdowns and five interceptions with an 80.5 passer rating.
Miami still refuses to really commit to the running game
Last week, head coach Mike McDaniel spoke on his team’s lack of commitment to the running game, especially in short-yardage situations. However, when the opportunity presented itself to address the issues on Sunday, his offense continued their passing ways.
Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson rushed just 17 times in the game, combining for 82 yards (4.8 yards per attempt) and a touchdown. That average is more than enough to show that it’s working. They need to rely on it more.
Special teams continues to be an issue
On Miami’s first kickoff attempt, the Packers returned the ball 93 yards to the Dolphins’ 9-yard line. This isn’t a new problem. Miami’s kick coverage has been lackluster all season, and it’s putting their defense in bad situations. Luckily, Josh Boyer’s unit held them to just a field goal.
Jason Sanders ended his streak of made field goal attempts, missing one from 48 yards out.
