The Miami Dolphins are at it again. On Sunday, they dropped another heartbreaker (I feel like I write that every week), this time to the Los Angeles Chargers 29-27 that hinged on a last-minute 42-yard catch and run to wide receiver Ladd McConkey that all but sealed the game.
Linebacker Jaelan Phillips almost had a sure sack of quarterback Justin Herbert, but he got away and was able to complete the pass.
“He made a great play,” Phillips said after the game. “Yeah, it’s just disappointing. Disappointing.”
The game-winning drive happened right after the Dolphins took the lead on a touchdown by tight end Darren Waller with 46 seconds remaining in regulation.
It was brutal. Again.
Mike McDaniel is running out of excuses for the Miami Dolphins
This is not a 1-5 Tennessee Titans‘ situation where every single wheel seems to be off the wagon and there isn’t enough talent to cover it. The Dolphins have actual talent on the roster, but still find creative ways to lose games every week.
“Part of winning football games is executing your best technique and fundamentals at the end of the game,” head coach Mike McDaniel said following the game. “There’s not one player or play that dictates the game. It’s an accumulation of that, but when you’re in a position to win a football game and you have a quarterback in your grasp, I think the play previous and that Ladd (McConkey), we have a potential sack. A potential sack in that situation is monumental because then they have to burn a timeout because then they’re behind the sticks and now they have no timeouts, which can affect however you get points.
“We were unable to come up with that sack. I think there was a couple people that had opps. He got the ball out, and then it comes back to more fundamentals and technique where you’re bringing your feet in space. We had an overrun tackle, so very controllable and it’s a tough one to experience because it’s at the root of the techniques and fundamentals we been talking endlessly about, how to bring ball carriers down. That was a big play in the game. It didn’t decide the game; however, it could have been the decider for us if we make plays that I think we have the ability to across the board.”
In fairness, it’s tough to blame McDaniel for anything on that play. He’s not the one who couldn’t get Herbert to the ground. He’s not the one that couldn’t make a tackle. But, he’s still the head coach, so…
Chargers’ players and coaches saw the Miami Dolphins’ melt down differently
Chargers‘ head coach Jim Harbaugh said the McConkey play will be something he’ll remember forever. Sadly, the Dolphins were on the wrong side of this “great” play.
“I mean, that play will be burned in my mind till they throw dirt over top of me,” Harbaugh said. “Justin Herbert back to throw, defender wrapped around him. He’s able to just mighty man it and shake it off and hit Ladd McConkey. Ladd does his stop, fly by and starts getting that necessary yardage, and here comes Zion Johnson flying ahead of Ladd, I mean just the type of effort, the want-to, the great desire to win, he gets that block shield and there’s another 20, another 20 yards. Yeah, I’m going to remember that play until they throw dirt over top of me. That’s how great I feel about that.”
Herbert said it was hectic, but he and McConkey just found a way.
“It’s a race against time. A throwaway is better than a sack, and I was doing my best to just get the ball off. The play before, they played good coverage, got the ball off, thankfully, saved some time. Then the next play went through my reads, had to step up in the pocket, and Ladd did a great job just running across the middle, making a play and just extending the game.”
McDaniel is running out of answers and the losses are piling up. It’s clear just by Tua Tagovailoa’s post-game comments that the wheels are officially off the Dolphins’ wagon internally.
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