Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel seems to be very aware of his team’s history and the fact that they have yet to beat a team with a winning record this season.
It also seemed to bother him when he asked his players to respectfully tell any member of the media who asked to “go away.”McDaniel may not like it and the Dolphins may be sick of hearing about it, but until they actually work with one of the best teams in the NFL, it will be a topic of discussion. conversation until they do something to change it.The good news for the Dolphins is that they have three games left to close out the regular season to change that narrative, as they finish the regular season with games against Dallas, Baltimore and Buffalo. These aren’t just teams with winning records, they’re also three potential Super Bowl contenders.The concern with Miami isn’t just that it’s 0-3 against teams with winning records this season, or that it has the lowest winning percentage in the NFL this season ( their wins came against teams with a combined winning percentage of). .393 – the only team in the NFL with an SOV below .400). It’s that they weren’t even competitive against good teams, and that’s nothing new this season.In their three games against potential playoff teams this season, the Dolphins lost to Buffalo by 28 points, to Philadelphia by 14 points and to neutral-court Kansas City by just seven points. Their powerful offense has only totaled 44 points in those three games (just 14.6 per game).They have also lost six straight games to playoff teams at the end of the 2022 season, including the 34-31 playoff loss at Buffalo.Going back to the start of the 2022 season, the Dolphins are just 2-9 against teams that made the playoffs a year ago or are likely to make the playoffs this season. They were also outscored by nearly 100 points (330-239) in those games. It’s worth pointing out that they didn’t have starting quarterback Tua Tagovaiola in a handful of games a year ago due to injury. But he’s played in each of three games this season, and even with him, they’re still just 2-6 against playoff teams the last two years.You can only play against teams on your schedule, and the Dolphins deserve credit for beating the bottom teams in the league, but at some point if you want to be a Super Bowl team you have to take part in beating teams at the highest level. . You don’t have to beat them all. It is understandable and accepted that you lose a lot. But you can’t lose them all and be dominated every time. Right now, that’s the reality facing the Dolphins.If the Dolphins objectively lose two of their next three games — and don’t keep them close — and then get eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, how could they be taken seriously as a better team? You can not. The fact that McDaniel wanted to discuss the story in his weekly press conference suggests that he is very aware of it and doesn’t like it. Maybe he’s even worried about it. There’s only one thing that makes it disappear. Win these matches.
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