The Dolphins are getting a pair of defensive players back on the field this week.
Head coach Mike McDaniel told reporters in his Monday press conference that linebacker Bradley Chubb and linebacker Cameron Goode will both return to practice on Wednesday.
Chubb and Goode are both currently on the reserve/physically unable to perform list after suffering major injuries last season.
Chubb tore his ACL in Week 17 while Goode suffered a ruptured patellar tendon in the last week of the season.
Both players could help out a Miami team that currently ranks No. 8 in yards allowed but No. 14 in points allowed.
After the Thanksgiving night loss to the Packers that put the team at 5-7, the Dolphins will host the division-rival Jets for the first of two matchups this season in Week 14.
The first scheduling domino for Week 17 has fallen. By not falling at all.
Per the NFL, Seahawks-Bears will stay put as the Thursday night game on December 26.
It’s a challenging weekend for the league, with eight standalone windows: two on Wednesday, one on Thursday night, three on Saturday, one on Sunday night, and one on Monday night.
The league still has to select three of five potential games to be moved to Saturday: Broncos-Bengals, Cardinals-Rams, Chargers-Patriots, Colts-Giants, and Falcons-Commanders. The NFL also has to decide whether to move Dolphins-Browns from Sunday night.
For now, Falcons-Commanders seems to be the best candidate to slide to prime time.
While that’s to be determined, the best news is that anyone going to the December 26th game between the Seahawks and Bears won’t have to change their plans to Sunday. Likewise, no one who’ll be attending a Sunday game has to worry about the game being moved to Thursday.
After Thursday night’s loss to the Packers, Dolphins linebacker Jordyn Brooks said the Dolphins were “soft.”
“Simple as that, I thought we were soft today,” Brooks said. “I don’t know if guys was too cold. . . . I don’t know what it was. I feel like the elements played a part in how we played as a group, and that was the result that we got.”
On Friday, coach Mike McDaniel was asked for his reaction to the comment.
“I think specifically what Jordyn was talking about, I think that has to do with the tackling or the lack thereof,” McDaniel told reporters. “So much of the production over 100-some odd yards for them offensively was as a result of tackling, and I think that was a collective issue. It’s two-fold, really.
“In my mind, it’s hard for me to assess 100 percent with conviction opinion one way or the other, but I think two things were at play; I saw a consistent failure of tacklers to bring their feet through the tackle, just picture diving and leaving your feet to try to wrap up, as opposed to bringing your feet through the tackle which is our No. 1 fundamental emphasis when we do that. Whether that was because of the cold or the short week, either way both things are consistent with the opponent; the opponent has a short week and the opponent is playing in that weather.”
Whatever the cause, the trip to Lambeau Field didn’t work out for the Dolphins. Cold-weather games don’t work out for the Dolphins.
The Dolphins had been on a heater. In Green Bay, they didn’t have enough of them.
Yet again, Miami struggled in a cold-weather environment.
“That’s the thing with narratives,” coach Mike McDaniel told reporters last night. “There’s one way to change them and so my expectation would be those who, the naysayers, you prove them right, they’ll be louder. That’s part of the territory. You carry that until you do something about it, and unfortunately, we didn’t tonight.”
For the Dolphins, one of the most prominent naysayers came from inside the house, with linebacker Jordyn Brooks saying the Dolphins were soft in conditions that otherwise makes things harden and crack.
The loss will complicate significantly an already unlikely run to the postseason. Now at 5-7, the Dolphins will need to catch one of the current wild-card teams: (1) the 8-3 Steelers or the 8-4 Ravens; (2) the 7-5 Chargers; or (3) the 7-5 Broncos. (They’ll also have to fend off the 5-7 Colts and the 4-7 Bengals.)
“As far as season hopes I would say that this one was a tough one for us as a team,” quarterback Tua Tagovailoa told reporters after the loss to the Packers. “I know what this game meant to a lot of the guys in this locker room. I wouldn’t say that the dream is dead for our team just yet. Anything can happen in this league and we are going to watch the film and look over things that we need to get better at. We are going to come back next week and just keep chopping wood. Keep chopping wood and find a way to win the next game and keep stacking those again.”
The Dolphins have five chances left — Jets, at Texans, 49ers, at Browns, at Jets. Two more cold-weather games. Two more games against playoff contenders.
On that point, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald shares a statistic that should be regarded as alarming for the Dolphins. Last year, Miami played seven games against teams that made the playoffs. They went 1-6, and they were outscored in those games by 110 points. This year, they’re 0-4 against teams currently in position to make it to the postseason. In those games, they’ve been outscored by 58 points.
It speaks to deeper flaws that the Dolphins have yet to resolve. While they can handle inferior foes, they have a hard time showing up against the better teams in the league.
They can get salty or downright defiant when those facts are pointed out, if they want. But facts are facts and facts not only shape narratives but sharpen them. Over the next five weeks, it will be for the Dolphins to disprove those facts — or not.
If they can’t, there are deeper questions that the Dolphins desperately need to address.
Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel said this week that edge rusher Shaq Barrett’s desire to return to active duty after retiring this summer took him by surprise and that the team would need to discuss the situation before making any dcisions about bringing the veteran back into the fold.
The Dolphins ultimately decided against activating Barrett ahead of Thursday’s game against the Packers and they won’t release him, which means that Barrett will not return to action this season. After the Dolphins lost in Green Bay, McDaniel was asked about that decision at his press conference.
McDaniel said the players currently on the roster “have earned the right to be on it” and that meant “the timing I don’t think was necessarily ideal” to bring Barrett back from an extended layoff. McDaniel also said that it wasn’t a matter of keeping Barrett away from other teams.
“It wasn’t any measured situation like that posturing one way or the other,” McDaniel said, via a transcript from the team. “Like I said we just found out on a day that I had a press conference with you guys, and it was more of that. It wasn’t whether he wanted to play there or here. He knew we had his contractual rights, so it was more of where we are at, and let’s look at our roster.”
Barrett won’t play this season, but could revisit his options come the offseason.
Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa said he was “excited to kill narratives” about his team’s inability to win in cold weather before Thursday night’s game in Green Bay, but he and his team couldn’t do that.
The Packers won 30-17 to make Tagovailoa 0-8 in games that kicked off with a temperature under 40 degrees. Tagovailoa and head coach Mike McDaniel both downplayed the impact of the weather on a game that the Packers led 24-3 before cruising to the finish line, but linebacker Jordyn Brooks thinks that the chill in the air chilled his team.
“I thought we were soft,” Brooks said, via Marcel Louis-Jacques of ESPN.com. “Simple as that, I thought we were soft today. I don’t know if guys was too cold. . . . I don’t know what it was. I feel like the elements played a part in how we played as a group, and that was the result that we got.”
The Dolphins may get chances to win in the cold in Weeks 17 and 18 when they play the Browns and Jets on the road. Thursday’s loss dropped them to 5-7, however, and that makes it less likely that those games will have bearing on the playoff race in the AFC.
While the Dolphins wanted to kill some narratives by playing well in a cold-weather game, the Packers were the ones to come away with a 30-17 victory to cap the NFL’s 2024 Thanksgiving slate.
Quarterback Jordan Love passed for 274 yards with a pair of touchdowns, helping Green Bay control the game for much of the night.
The Packers built a 24-3 halftime lead with Love completing a pair of TD passes to Jayden Reed — a 3-yard catch in the first quarter and a 12-yard catch in the second quarter. Running back Josh Jacobs also had a 1-yard score late in the first quarter and Brandon McManus sent a 46-yard field goal through the uprights as time expired in the second quarter.
McManus added field goals of 24 and 33 yards in the second half to round out Green Bay’s scoring.
Down 27-3, the Dolphins started to make it a game in the third quarter with De’Von Achane’s 14-yard touchdown catch. Tua Tagovailoa connected with Jaylen Waddle on the two-point conversion to make it 27-11.
But the Dolphins couldn’t bring it closer in the fourth quarter, despite three plays from the Green Bay 1-yard line. Raheem Mostert was stuffed for no gain on second down, Tagovailoa was nearly intercepted on a pass to Jonnu Smith on third down, and Tagovailoa was then sacked for a turnover on downs.
The Packers got a 33-yard field goal on their ensuing drive to make it a three-possession game and effectively seal their victory.
Though Tyreek Hill caught a 12-yard touchdown from Tagovialoa with 3:04 left in the fourth quarter — just his fourth TD of the year — the Dolphins didn’t convert their two-point conversion, keeping the club down by 13.
Tagovailoa ended the contest 37-of-46 for 364 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Smith led with 10 receptions for 113 yards. Hill had six catches for 83 yards with a score.
The Dolphins had a lot of trouble running it, tallying just 39 yards on 14 carries.
Love finished the game 21-of-28 for 274 yards with two TDs and no picks — good for a 129.2 passer rating. Josh Jacobs rushed for just 43 yards on 19 carries with a TD, but he also caught four passes for 74 yards — including a career-long 49-yard reception. Tucker Kraft led with six passes for 78 yards.
With the win, the Packers are now 9-3 and have a big matchup with 11-1 Detroit next Thursday night.
The 5-7 Dolphins will host the Jets in Week 14.
It took until late in the third quarter, but the Dolphins have found the end zone and have made it a two-possession game.
De’Von Achane scored a 14-yard touchdown on a screen pass, with Tua Tagovailoa hitting Jaylen Waddle in the end zone for a successful two-point conversion. That made the score 27-11 — leaving Green Bay with a 16-point lead.
Miami was efficient on the possession, facing just one third down. Though the club did not convert third-and-1 with Raheem Mostert getting stuffed for no gain, Tagovailoa found Jonnu Smith for a 16-yard completion on fourth-and-1 to move the chains.
A 16-yard pass to Waddle put Miami on Green Bay’s 14. And on the next play, Achane found the end zone for his sixth receiving touchdown of the season.
Under duress, Tagovailoa made a nice throw to Waddle with the receiver dragging his feet in the end zone to convert the two-point attempt.
The Dolphins have ruled out cornerback Cam Smith with a shoulder injury suffered in the first half.
Packers cornerback Corey Ballentine was also ruled out with a knee injury.
Quarterback Tua Tagovialoa said this week that the Dolphins were excited to kill narratives about how the team plays in cold weather.
But through two quarters, those narratives are still alive and well, as the Packers have dominated the first two quarters and lead 24-3 at halftime.
The Packers technically didn’t score on their first drive, but they were able to get the ball back on a muffed punt and then got in the end zone with a 3-yard touchdown pass from Jordan Love to Jayden Reed.
On their next possession, Josh Jacobs scored his eighth rushing touchdown of the season, putting the ball in the paint with a 1-yard run.
Then Love again connected with Reed for the team’s third TD. This time, Reed took a screen pass 12 yards to the end zone.
Miami scored its lone field goal midway through the second quarter with Jason Sanders hitting from 33 yards. The Dolphins got into Green Bay territory late in the same period, but Tagovailoa’s fourth-and-5 pass sailed over De’Von Achane for a turnover on downs.
With three timeouts and 22 seconds on the ensuing drive, the Packers perfectly executed three plays to set up Brandon McManus for a 46-yard field goal as time expired in the second quarter.
Love completed 11-of-15 passes for 111 yards with two touchdowns in the first half. Jacobs has 33 yards on 11 carries to lead the team. Tucker Kraft leads with four catches for 52 yards.
On the other side, Tagovailoa ended the first half 14-of-19 for 118 yards. Tyreek Hill has just one catch for 2 yards.
The Dolphins have not been able to run the ball at all, as Tagovailoa leads the team with 6 yards on 2 carries.
Miami is just 1-of-6 on third down and has 121 yards and eight first downs. In contrast, Green Bay has 12 first downs, 213 total yards, and is 4-of-6 on third down.
The Dolphins have had a couple of injuries on their defense. Cornerback Kader Kohou went down after nearly intercepting a Jordan Love pass in the first quarter. He is questionable to return with a back injury. While Kohou was evaluated for a concussion, he was cleared. Fellow cornerback Cam Smith went down late in the second quarter as well, testing the depth of the Dolphins’ defensive backfield. He has a shoulder injury and is questionable to return.
Miami defensive lineman Benito Jones also went down midway through the second quarter and is questionable to return with a back injury.
The Dolphins will have a chance to get right to begin the third quarter, as they’ll receive the second-half kickoff.
The Packers got their first score off a special teams takeaway.
They put it in the box again with a long, sustained drive capped by Josh Jacobs pounding it in for a 1-yard touchdown.
Jacobs’ eighth rushing touchdown of the season ended a 12-play, 76-yard drive that took 6:58 off the clock. Quarterback Jordan Love converted third-and-3 with a 17-yard pass to Tucker Kraft that put Green Bay in Miami territory.
Then on third-and-4, running back Emanuel Wilson’s 15-yard run put the Packers at the Miami 7.
Jacobs went to work from there, taking it 6 yards, then getting the remaining yard on the next play to give Green Bay a 14-0 lead.
The Packers have started the game 3-of-4 on third down.
