Miami Dolphins' poor performance against Green Bay Packers on Thanksgiving was a familiar tale
The Miami Dolphins went into Thursday's game at Green Bay hoping to change a couple of narratives: criticisms that they can't win in the cold and that they falter against winning teams.
They dispelled neither on Thanksgiving and had a three-game winning streak snapped in a familiar tale of the past few seasons.
"That's the thing with narratives," coach Mike McDaniel said after Miami lost 30-17 to the Packers. "There's one way to change them ... the naysayers, you prove them right, they'll be louder. That's part of the territory. You carry that until you do something about it, and unfortunately, we didn't tonight."
The Dolphins won 11 games last season, but six of their seven losses were against teams that had winning records at the time of the matchup, including a first-round playoff loss. They beat just one team that entered the game with a winning record in 2023, which was Dallas in Week 16.
That pattern has been similar this year: All five teams Miami has beaten were either at .500 or below at the time of the matchup. In the four games they've played this season against winning teams, the Dolphins are 0-4 while being outscored 115-57.
"In the National Football League, you learn hard lessons a lot," said McDaniel, who is 1-10 in his past 11 games played against winning teams, "and we'll have to hear about all the things that come with this loss, and I'd prefer that. I want things earned, not given, and we have some work to do to earn what our goals are."
Self-inflicted wounds undid Miami early at Green Bay.
Within the first five minutes, rookie Malik Washington muffed a punt that gave the Packers the ball at the 9 and led to an easy score. The Dolphins were then flagged three times on their opening drive with two false starts and unnecessary roughness called when tight end Jonnu Smith got into a small skirmish with a Packers defender.
Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa found himself in a 14-point hole before he even threw an incompletion (he completed his first nine passes).
"The things that we progressed on, we somewhat ended up digressing within the first half," Tagovailoa said. "Pre-snap penalties, things that we thought we were getting better at. Outside of the pre-snap penalties, just the operation wasn't our style of football that we showed."
Miami had done a good job of limiting the penalties that hindered it early in the season. During their recent three-game winning streak, the Dolphins were penalized eight times for 55 yards.
Ten penalties for 75 yards were accepted against Miami on Thursday.
"That's another microcosm of the issue," McDaniel said Friday. "You know, we can't expect to have the results of the previous games and take a gigantic step back."
McDaniel and Tagoailoa downplayed the role of the elements in the performance — the reading at Lambeau Field was 27 degrees (-2.7 Celsius), with 10 mph winds and a wind chill of 18. Miami's record in its last 12 games where the temperature at kickoff was 40 degrees or lower stretched to 0-12.
Other players put it bluntly.
"I feel like we let the elements control the way we played," linebacker Jordyn Brooks said after the game. "As a group, I thought we were soft. Simple as that."
What's working
Tagovailoa missed some early throws but was able to finish with 365 yards passing and two touchdowns. He has remained strong since his Week 8 return from a concussion, with 13 passing touchdowns and one interception thrown in Week 10.
What needs help
A Dolphins team that went five games earlier this season with more than 100 yards rushing got no push up front on Thursday, finishing with 39 yards, averaging 2.8 yards. Getting back to the run game should be a focus. Miami has gone four straight games without topping 100 yards rushing and ran for more than 70 yards once during that span.
Stock up
WR Tyreek Hill caught six of nine targets for 83 yards and his fourth touchdown of the season. That was his highest receiving yards since he had four catches for 80 yards at Buffalo in Week 9.
Stock down
The entire offense, which Tagovailoa admitted appeared to regress from where it was during Miami's three-game winning streak.
Injuries
The Dolphins injured secondary got thinner with injuries to nickel Kader Kohou (back) and CB Cam Smith (shoulder). Starting CB Kendall Fuller was already inactive, missing his third straight game with a concussion. ... Brooks, who played every snap entering Thursday, was hurt in the third quarter.
Key numbers
- 4-14 — The Dolphins on third downs Thursday. They had converted 55% of third downs in their previous five games, which was second in the league during that span.
- 20 — The number of tackles missed by Miami's defense, according to Next Gen Stats.
"That's the game right there," defensive tackle Calais Campbell said. "Twenty missed tackles, it's hard to win."
Next steps
The Dolphins host the lowly Jets (3-8) next Sunday, then get another opportunity to change their fortune against winning teams with a game at Houston (7-5) in Week 15.
