Tua Tagovailoa, Dolphins jeopardize playoff hopes against Packers

MIAMI GARDENS, FL – Miami Dolphins first-year coach Mike McDaniel likes to say that adversity brings opportunity. But the Dolphins’ golden opportunity to make the postseason may be fading away.

Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa threw three interceptions on back-to-back drives in the fourth quarter, and the Dolphins ruined Christmas for some in Miami in a 26-20 home loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.

“It’s very disappointing. It all ended really badly,” said Tagovailoa. “Like I said to everyone, it’s my fault. I’ll definitely get better from it.”

The Dolphins may need to do some soul searching after this game, but many players claim they are feeling confident heading into their final two games.

They have lost four in a row (San Francisco 49ers, Los Angeles Chargers, Buffalo Bills, Packers) and lost three in a row in a marquee game. And they cling to the AFC’s No. 7 and final playoff seed by a small margin from December 0-4.

See how Tagovailoa squandered Miami’s chance against Green Bay:

After Aaron Rodgers threw an interception to Dolphins rookie Kadel Kohou early in the fourth quarter of the 20-20 game, Tagovailoa took down Tyreek Hill on the first play of the ensuing drive.

“At first I tried to throw it over the defenders, but in the end I threw it over the defenders and Tyreek and one of them got away,” Tagovailoa said.

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The second was even more disappointing. The Dolphins held the Packers to a field goal to lead 23-20. And Tagovailoa underwent surgery on the ensuing drive.

He threw a 16-yard bullet high enough for Jalen Waddle to secure. He threw his 10-yard pass from center to Trent Sherfield and converted on 3 and 7.

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But Tagovailoa didn’t see Packers linebacker Devondle Campbell waiting in the middle when he tried to hit Mostert with a pass down the seam.

“Second, I may have said the wrong play. I’m not sure,” said Tagovailoa. “But it had some communication errors.”

And with the Packers padding the score with only a 26-20 field goal with 2:02 remaining, Tagovailoa delivered the final blow of Christmas as Packers cornerback Rasul Douglas jumped in front of tight end Mike Geschki. I saw the

“Then the third ball was not a good ball that my receiver could have played with it,” said Tagovailoa.

“You know, it’s tough. We had the opportunity to play against a really good team on Christmas Day and I went out there and really — I couldn’t do my best for our team.

The temperature during the game was 46 degrees, a terrifying end to the second-coldest game in Dolphins history. The lowest temperature for Kansas City in 1989 was 40 degrees.

We have seen Miami deliver big plays worthy of playoff contention in all three phases of the game.

“No,” Dolphins cornerback Xavien Howard said. “It was a good game. The ups and downs of the game. It was up and down.”

A case in point for the Dolphins was Sunday’s boom or bust day.

According to ESPN’s Next Gen Stats, Waddle’s 84-yard touchdown run for 21.68 yards in the first quarter was the highlight play of the day for Miami, giving the Dolphins a 10-3 lead. gave to

Hill’s 52-yard catchdown to the 1-yard line set up a Jeff Wilson touchdown and helped the Dolphins take a 20-13 lead at halftime.

A defense also appeared. Miami allowed his return on a 93-yard kickoff after the first possession, but Rodgers’ Dolphins forced his goal on the field due to a sack by his linebacker Elandon Roberts.

Mostert’s fumble near the two-minute caution in the first half prevented Miami from getting away with this. The Packers pulled within 7 on field goals and a 20–13 lead at halftime.

Tagovailoa and the Dolphins beat themselves out in the second half.

“We are very confident. I feel like we all know that we are a better team than what we have shown so far,” Waddle said. “It won’t show up on Sunday. Obviously that’s not what we want, but we have to keep going, keep working, just keep playing.”

Yes, losing to the Packers was disappointing. But it doesn’t completely ruin Miami’s playoff hopes.

Look at the team’s field behind them.

• The New England Patriots, who face them next week, are 7-8, and could take the win after losing two in a row in the final minute.

• The New York Jets are also 7-8 at quarterback peril, with former No. 2 pick Zach Wilson struggling to recover from a rib injury to backup Mike White.

• The Tennessee Titans also went 7-8, losing five games in a row on Saturday to the bottom-ranked Houston Texans, allowing the Jacksonville Jaguars to clinch the AFC South.

• And the 7-8 Pittsburgh Steelers returned to the mix with a win for the winter comeback on Saturday, defeating the 6-9 Las Vegas Raiders.

The Dolphins don’t want to lose the last two games to the Patriots or Jets, but one more loss could put them in playoff contention. But certainly not two.

The Dolphins still have everything to play in front of them. However, this Christmas performance was certainly disappointing.

“Our young team has to learn the hard way,” said McDaniel. “And nothing has changed except for the fact that I was really looking forward to cleansing myself of this feeling. I’ll have to wait another week to try and do the right thing.”

This article originally appeared in USA TODAY: Tua Tagovailoa, Dolphins vs. Packers question playoffs