Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa duly let loose after his squad’s let-down 27-24 defeat to the Carolina Panthers. This loss held their record at a miserable 1-4, their worst opening stretch since 2021. Tagovailoa admitted, “This feeling sucks. It’s not a good feeling,” emphasizing the urgency for the team to address their struggles.
The Hurricanes took an early lead on the Dolphins during the matchup against the Panthers. They did against Missouri, scoring on their first three drives to build an imposing 17-0 lead. All the momentum turned on a dime as they only totaled 38 yards on their next five offensive possessions. The Panthers certainly took advantage of it, ending the game on a 27-7 tear.
Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel shared some insight after that loss. He added that it was the third time his crew had lost while owning a turnover differential of +2 or better. “I thought we were one drive away and we had some good answers offensively, and then ultimately we didn’t,” he stated. The embarrassing defeat heightened questions about the D, namely their inability to stop the run.
The Dolphins finished the game giving up 239 rushing yards. That would be their highest total since 2022 and second-most since McDaniel took over as head coach. In light of this, McDaniel acknowledged the need for improvement in this area, stating, “It’s not just going through the motions — it’s making a change. We’ve come here every week and talked about how this starts and ends with stopping the run. Now is the time to double down on this concept!
Despite the loss, Panthers quarterback Bryce Young contributed significantly to his team’s victory, finishing with 198 passing yards and two touchdowns. The performance was a microcosm of the arduous day ahead Miami’s defense faced all afternoon long.
In the wake of that defeat, McDaniel owned the loss while highlighting lessons learned about preparing and executing a campaign as they look ahead. “So we’ll get back to the drawing board, and in the National Football League, no one cares about your feelings,” he remarked. “When you lose a game like this, you better come together and from the foundation out, you need to build on our standard.”
Up next, the Dolphins will return home to take on the Los Angeles Chargers in a Week 6 showdown. In reaction to his team’s dire straits, McDaniel gambled on a Hail Mary. He promised them that they would begin to start making things right starting right now, on their flight home from Charlotte.
In fact, only eight out of the 390 teams that began a season with a 1-4 mark have gone on to make the playoffs. Miami pulled off this very cool trick back in 2016. The hard part now is going to be building off their recent struggles and game plan on getting better.
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