The Miami Dolphins took on the Kansas City Chiefs in sub-zero temperatures at Arrowhead Stadium on Saturday, and unfortunately, the Dolphins offense was ice cold as well.
The Dolphins bore no resemblance to the same dynamic offense that led the league in yards. Tua Tagovailoa was pressured constantly by the NFL's second-ranked defense, wide receiver Tyreek Hill had a 53-yard TD catch but was otherwise shut down in his return to Kansas City, and the Dolphins finished with 264 yards in all.
After the game, Tagovailoa, who grew up in Hawaii and now plays his home games in Miami, talked about the bitter cold, according to David Furones of the Miami Sun-Sentinel:
Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa called the below-0 cold in KC “different.” pic.twitter.com/8235Uc1z6l
— David Furones (@DavidFurones_) January 14, 2024
Said Tagovailoa, “It was a little difficult at the beginning, but then we sort of figured out a plan with how we went about that later on with the game plan. Yeah, it was different.”
At -4 degrees Fahrenheit, the matchup between the Dolphins and Chiefs was the fourth-coldest NFL game in history. The coldest game in league history remains minus-13 for the 1967 NFL championship, when the Packers beat the Cowboys at Lambeau Field in a game that came to be known as the Ice Bowl. The wind chill that day was minus-48 degrees.
“It wasn't good, brother. Losing is never fun,” Tagovailoa added when asked about the mood in the locker room following the defeat.
Tagovailoa was critical of their performance in the contest as well. He admitted that there were a lot of things that they could have done better, but he is not blaming their recent injury woes or the weather condition for it. They fell short and didn't play to their standards, plain and simple.
“It wasn't up to our standard,” Tagovailoa said on their communication issues that led to a rather abysmal offensive showing. “We weren't efficient on first and second downs.”