Ouch, what a way to start the season. Their 33-8 loss at home to the Indianapolis Colts in week 1 was a crushing blow. Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was harassed all over the field. He passed for only 114 yards on 14/23 passing with one touchdown, two interceptions and lost a fumble. This performance accounted for his worst full-game passer rating of his career—a stat that had both players and coaches worried.
In an effort to address the discouraging loss, the Dolphins held a players’ only meeting on their off day Tuesday. This was an important convening to ensure the entire team stayed connected and aligned. It developed their relationship with each other as they prepared for the games ahead. Tagovailoa was hopeful about the meeting. He looked forward to finding out which of his teammates would join him to watch game film.
“I got the offense together, and we had a meeting about things that we wanted to do to hang our hats on this week, points of emphasis, and how we want to go about it this week,” – Tua Tagovailoa
As linebacker Jordyn Brooks expressed, the meeting fostered an important atmosphere. He said it was critical in stopping the bleeding of further team morale erosion. We acknowledge the danger of being downcast after such a tremendous defeat, he wrote. He described how pressure from outside sources like fans and family can escalate that sense.
“Losing the way we did can be discouraging. Outside noise — people talking, family talking, everybody talking,” – Jordyn Brooks
Brooks went on, emphasizing the importance of faith and togetherness among his squad. He understood that after losses, players may start to question themselves or each other. Perhaps more importantly, he stressed the importance of remaining focused to prepare for the games yet to come.
“[The meeting was] just kind of making sure that everybody’s together. When you lose like that, it’s easy for people to get discouraged, start looking, questioning maybe yourself or others. So making sure that we all locked back in, making sure that the belief is still there.” – Jordyn Brooks
Despite the disruptive opening, the Dolphins look ahead to the next three pivotal matchups against division foes. This Sunday, they’ll welcome their division rivals down I-95, the New England Patriots. After that, they will head to Buffalo for a Thursday Night Football tussle against the Bills. Just last year, the Dolphins finished the season with a sub-par 8-9 record. They missed the AFC playoff picture by two games, further emphasizing how dire their situation is right now.
The players’ collective desire to learn from failure and form camaraderie as they move further down this intense gauntlet. Tagovailoa explained that seeing teammates show up to film the day after a tough loss was an encouraging indication of their investment.
“I thought that that was the cool thing, is that was their process going into Week 1; win, lose, you got to see a lot of the same guys back in the film room, back in the meeting rooms, and I thought that was a cool thing.” – Tua Tagovailoa
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