There are several unknowns for the Miami Dolphins entering their regular-season finale, beginning with their starting quarterback.
Coach Mike McDaniel said the Dolphins are in a “gray area” with Tua Tagovailoa after the quarterback was scratched ahead of Sunday’s win at Cleveland because of a hip injury.
Tagovailoa’s body didn’t respond the way the team had hoped with the injury sustained in Week 15 against Houston, McDaniel said, and he doesn’t know about the starter’s availability the rest of the season.
“Where does that leave us? Firmly in the unknown,” McDaniel said Monday. He added that Tagovailoa playing against Cleveland wouldn’t have been safe.
“It was not safe at all,” McDaniel said, “based upon a litany of things that his body was vulnerable to as well as his inability to avoid and move within the pocket … just leaving him really unprotected is the way that I would say, both on impact and the ability to avoid impact.”
This is for certain: If the Dolphins beat the New York Jets on Sunday and Kansas City wins at Denver, Miami is in the playoffs after starting the season 2-6. But that Chiefs win likely will have to happen without Patrick Mahomes and many other Kansas City starters, who are expected to rest.
Either way, McDaniel said his team’s focus is squarely on the Jets.
“It’s a very clear message to the team that we’ve been afforded the opportunity to execute upon,” he said. “When you dig a hole within the season that you have to get yourself out of, and then you’re faced with the reality that you need to take care of business and you need some help, you learn quickly that any time spent on the help is not benefitting the desired goal.”
Tyler “Snoop” Huntley will get more practice reps than Tagovailoa this week, and McDaniel is preparing game plans for both contingencies.
Huntley gave McDaniel confidence in his ability to lead the team with a solid performance against Cleveland.
The Dolphins will try to sweep the Jets for the second straight season when they play in New York on Sunday. They may have an eye on the Chiefs, who play at Denver during the same 4:25 p.m. EST window.
