Injuries and prime-time performance drop the Dolphins out of the top 10 and into the deep water.
It’s a special kind of pain only Dolphins fans feel on Sundays, or in this case, on Thursdays. The Miami Dolphins are coming off a blowout loss on Thursday Night Football against the Buffalo Bills, and things have taken a turn for the worse.
The Dolphins will be without their franchise quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa, for the next four games due to the concussion he suffered Thursday night. It’s a stunning development for the fanbase, but it’s “next man up,” so backup Skylar Thompson will be at the helm in Tagovailoa’s absence, along with the recently signed Snoop Huntley.
Although Tagovailoa sustained his concussion in the third quarter, the game was already looking to be a blowout. The Bills marched up and down on the Dolphins defense, and the Dolphins offense couldn’t find much success in the first half outside a lone touchdown drive.
The disastrous performance, along with Tagovailoa being on the shelf for the next month, significantly hurts their ranking amongst NFL media, and I don’t expect them to crack the top half of the league until Tagovailoa returns.
NFL
- Ranked #17 – Previously ranked #9 (-8)
“The concussion suffered by Tua Tagovailoa creates a lot of questions, including where to place the Dolphins in this pecking order. Tua’s status undoubtedly affects things. Where will the Dolphins be mentally for their trip to Seattle in Week 3? Skylar Thompson has the temperament to handle the moment if he’s called on to start, and he’s capable of a few plays to rally the team. But we saw Thursday what happens when you can’t get the ball to Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle at least a dozen times in a game, and it’s not great. Can De’Von Achane keep up this workload behind a beat-up offensive line? There are myriad worries for Mike McDaniel’s team right now, with these next weeks and months surely a massive test of his coaching skill.”
ESPN
- Ranked #17 – Previously ranked #9 (-8)
“Thompson beat veteran Mike White for the backup quarterback job this offseason and will likely be thrust into a starting role in Week 3 against the Seahawks. Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said Thompson won the job based on the team’s response to him in a preseason game, and that Miami has the “utmost confidence” in the third-year quarterback. Thompson started three games as a rookie in 2022, including a playoff-clinching win over the Jets and a playoff loss on the road in Buffalo. It’s unclear how many games he will be needed for this time around, but the Dolphins have an offense full of playmakers to support him.” – Marcel Louis-Jacques
CBS Sports
- Ranked #23 – Previously ranked #10 (-13)
“With Tua Tagovailoa having the concussion issues, this team is in big trouble if he is out for any length of time or maybe even the season. It’s Skylar Thompson time now.”
Bleacher Report
- Ranked #22 – Previously ranked #8 (-14)
“Getting drilled by the Bills for their 12th loss to the Bills in 13 games was bad enough for the Miami Dolphins.
But right now, it’s the least of Miami’s problems.
After suffering three concussions in 2022, Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa made it through the 2023 campaign unscathed, leading the NFL in passing yards and getting a four-year, $212.4 million extension from the team.
But while trying to gain extra yards on a fourth-down run Thursday night, Tagovailoa suffered yet another concussion—one that has thrown his season (if not his career) into doubt.
The injury led to multiple calls from pundits and former players alike for Tagovailoa to retire, but Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel told reporters that the only thing Tagovailoa should be focused on is his health.
“You’re talking about his career; his career is his,” he said. “I just wish that people would for a second hear what I’m saying, that bringing up his future is not in the best interest of him. So, I’m going to plead with everybody that does genuinely care that that should be the last thing on your mind.”
Tagovailoa has reportedly already made a decision on his future—he will consult with neurologists this week but has no intention of calling it a career.
So now the Dolphins need to figure out a way to keep the season afloat until Tagovailoa returns—and if Thursday’s loss was any indication, generating offense with Skylar Thompson under center isn’t going to be easy.”
Sports Illustrated
- Ranked #21 – Previously ranked #12 (-9)
“Tyler Huntley ends up as Miami’s backup option/competition for Skylar Thompson. But I wonder if the Dolphins would entertain swinging a deal for a pigeonholed backup like Trey Lance or Bryce Young at some point. Mike McDaniel and Young would be a fascinating combination. Mike White is on the Bills’ practice squad, Desmond Ridder, Austin Reed and Bailey Zappe are also on practice squads and I wonder what they would look like in a Mike McDaniel offense.”
Fox Sports
- Ranked #22 – Previously ranked #12 (-10)
“Wishing all the best to Tua Tagovailoa. His recovery from another concussion is more important than football. But the Dolphins do still have to line up and play this weekend, and it’s tough to feel good about any team that loses its starting quarterback.”
The consensus pick between the outlets listed is that the Dolphins are a bottom-ten team without their quarterback. You can say that about most teams, but it seems that the majority of those teams can find ways to win with their quarterback out. Not the Dolphins.
The Dolphins are 1-5 when Tagovailoa is out in the Mike McDaniel era, so it’s hard to argue that the Dolphins quarterback is what he is because of the system and the weapons around him. If that were true, you’d think the Dolphins could at least float around .500 with a backup quarterback playing, but they don’t and fall apart without him.
Through this next month, tons of questions will get answered about the Dolphins, such as the state of the quarterback room behind Tagovailoa, whether McDaniel’s system and surrounding weapons can find success outside of the starter, and if the defense can carry more weight in the pursuit of winning.
The media around the league doesn’t think so, and who can blame them? There are many questions and injury issues surrounding the Miami Dolphins, so we’ll see if they’re up to the challenge of rising above the noise and keeping themselves in the mix while Tagovailoa progresses through concussion protocol, and back onto the field.
