Tua Tagovailoa and the Miami Dolphins were in good shape when they went up 20-10 on the Green Bay Packers in the first half on Christmas, with the Dolphins' offense looking explosive. Unfortunately for the Dolphins, Tagovailoa completely melted down in the second half, throwing three consecutive interceptions to blow the game and suffer a crushing 26-20 loss.
Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel was admittedly a bit shocked at the turnaround, especially with the brutal Tua interceptions. McDaniel called the second half “unexpected” and struggled to explain what happened on those turnovers, per David Furones of the Sun Sentinel.
“It felt like situations where the ball just kind of got away from Tua,” McDaniel said.
The Dolphins coach claimed one of the interceptions was on a receiver running the wrong route. McDaniel said it's important that Tua doesn't lose confidence and that this doesn't “snowball” on him.
“It’s a challenge. Can’t let things snowball. I’m confident he’ll be able to get through that,” McDaniel said, per Hal Habib of The Palm Beach Post.
Things have already been snowballing for Tua and the Dolphins. They've now lost four consecutive games to drop to 8-7 on the season, with their playoff positioning now becoming more and more perilous. Miami slimly holds the seventh and final playoff spot in the AFC, with several teams right behind them at 7-8.
Tua's performance has dipped in a big way over the course of this losing streak. He struggled mightily against the San Francisco 49ers and was awful in the loss to the Los Angeles Chargers the following week. The Dolphins quarterback did bounce back in a heartbreaking loss to the Buffalo Bills, but then this disaster just happened.
Now, Tua and the Dolphins must regroup in order to secure a playoff spot. The New England Patriots and New York Jets are on the schedule to close the season.
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