The Miami Dolphins made a lot of mistakes in their 27-6 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the wild card round.
While Tua Tagovailoa played inconsistently and the defense couldn’t stop the Chiefs on the ground or through the air, some of the fingers could be pointed at head coach Mike McDaniel for not altering his gameplan ahead of a game where the temperatures were going to be extremely cold.
ESPN NFL analyst and former NFL wide receiver Randy Moss added Sunday that the decision not to run the ball was perhaps the biggest error by McDaniel in a game where the Chiefs rushed it 34 times.
“I really believe with all the talk about the temperature change … [Dolphins running backs Raheem] Mostert and [De’Von] Achane – eight attempts, six attempts, that’s not playing to win knowing you’re going into a cold climate weather,” Moss said.
Was coaching the issue for the Dolphins during their game against the Chiefs? 👀
The NFL Countdown crew shared their thoughts ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/i8JPpmkkec
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) January 14, 2024
The Dolphins boasted the No. 2 scoring offense, led by its No. 1 passing attempt and No. 6 rushing unit heading into the playoffs; yet, McDaniel opted to lean on the pass in unfamiliar temperatures when the running game could very easily have been the better plan.
The Dolphins’ offense couldn’t muster much throughout the game, except for a long touchdown pass to wide receiver Tyreek Hill where the wide receiver did most of the work to score.
McDaniel was once considered one of the NFL Coach of the Year candidates, and while this performance won’t affect the voting for the award it should give the Dolphins organization a bit of pause about how he can operate in both the playoffs and cold weather situations.
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