Dolphins failed to live up to season expectations, but Tua Tagovailoa isn’t solely to blame for Miami’s dismal 2023 season finale.
We’ve performed this autopsy so many times over the previous three or four decades—so many unsuccessful seasons—that we’ve lost count.
The Miami Dolphins’ seasons have had a lot of tragic ends, and 2023 will just add to the list.
Saying that this one feels any different from the others would be untrue given the 23 years of heartache and heartbreaking seasons that have passed without a postseason victory.
But this one—are we sure the Dolphins ever boarded the plane?—was finished off with a depressing 26-7 collapse against the Kansas City Chiefs. ought should feel a little different because of how much farther the fall from grace was.
There was a great deal of build-up to the huge disappointment we witnessed in the last month of the season. Whether you choose to attribute the team’s lackluster performance on injuries, which were numerous, the lackluster conclusion suggests that the franchise’s base may be flawed or perhaps cracked.
We have the entire offseason to analyze and talk about those problems and potential fixes, but let me begin by attempting to address the most pressing issue.
Although the fourth-year starting quarterback for the Dolphins was not the catalyst that lifted Miami above its long-standing status as a struggling NFL team, the team’s epic collapse against the Tennessee Titans cost Miami the AFC East division title and the home playoff game that went along with it.
He wasn’t the main reason Miami got manhandled by the Baltimore Ravens or bested by the Buffalo Bills the next week in a winner take-all game for the AFC East division.
Furthermore, in what ended up being the coldest game in team history against Kansas City, Tagovailoa wasn’t the only player having trouble.
Check out the offensive stats for the Dolphins from the three games that ended the season badly. Miami scored five touchdowns during its 27 offensive plays. Miami averaged 13.3 points per game while committing five turnovers.
Tagovailoa is not meant to bear that burden by herself. That’s coaching. It’s an offensive line. And playwrights as well.
Not to mention the defense’s struggles over the last three weeks, or the mistakes on special teams.
However, he is a heavyweight who weighs the crown and demands a salary of $45–50 million annually for his next deal.
Even while it hurts to comprehend this new information, assigning all the responsibility to Tagovailoa won’t help the club succeed; he was just not the answer and wasn’t able to lead the team to new heights in all of those losses.
Additionally, neither would replacing Tagovailoa with Russell Wilson, Justin Fields, Kirk Cousins, or any other experienced quarterback that could become available this offseason.
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel stated, “We had goals that weren’t accomplished,” only moments after witnessing his offense lose to the Chiefs 409-264 in terms of total yardage. “On this team, nobody held onto all the justifications. All the many variables people talked about, injuries and weather, all that stuff. We came here to triumph, but we were unsuccessful. We didn’t achieve our objectives.”
