MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Tua Tagovailoa was in his second season when the Miami Dolphins started their 2021 campaign with a 1-7 record. They followed a seven-game skid with a seven-game winning streak and ended up 9-8.
Tagovailoa is hoping to rally the Dolphins from a similarly disappointing start this year. They’re 2-5 after losing 28-27 to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, putting their playoff hopes in jeopardy. “No disrespect to my other teammates (from 2021), but I’m talking about the talent that we have here (now),” Tagovailoa said.
“We didn’t have half that talent however many years ago. So to give that group respect, we won the next (seven) games — and I’m not saying we’re going to do that or whatnot — but it is possible.” Coach Mike McDaniel called it “disappointing and frustrating” that the Dolphins improved markedly on offense but couldn’t close out the Cardinals.
Tagovailoa led Miami to its highest-scoring game of the season in his return from a concussion , but the Dolphins blew a 10-point lead for the second straight week. The loss was magnified because of the situation the Dolphins put themselves in by going 1-3 while Tagovailoa was on injured reserve with a concussion, McDaniel said. Setting aside the struggles by backup quarterbacks Tyler Huntley, Tim Boyle and Skylar Thompson, the Dolphins have been sloppy at times.
Holding penalties and illegal formations have been an issue in their past few games. Only two penalties were acce.
