Mike McDaniel’s “irate” sideline outburst said it all. His Dolphins are going nowhere but down this season.
Miami was trounced on Thursday night, 28-6, by the Ravens at home as they fell to 2-7 on the season, well out of playoff range.
The Dolphins, though, had a chance to take a lead early in the game when they decided to go for it on a fourth-and-1 situation from the Ravens’ 12-yard line as they trailed 7-3.
Tackle Larry Broom, though, was called for a false start to push Miami back five yards.
In a moment of pure frustration, McDaniel ripped off his headset and started screaming toward his team. Moments later, things went from bad to worse when kicker Riley Patterson missed a 35-yard field goal. Baltimore went down the field on a seven-play drive to open up a 14-3 lead.
McDaniel explained after the game why he got so mad.
“We’ve been putting such an emphasis on all things related to our operation,” McDaniel explained. “And in a critical fourth-and-1, where we’re pretty fired up about the defensive look, it was what we were calling the play for. That’s flat-out a controllable that our team knows that keeps you from winning. I was irate at nothing but our self-inflicted wound.”
There were plenty of self-inflicted wounds from the Dolphins, as they turned the ball over three times — two fumbles and one Tua Tagovailoa interception. They also took five penalties for 45 yards, hurting their chances further.
The Dolphins are just one game ahead of the one-win Jets in the AFC East, and with the trade deadline just days away, it’ll be interesting to see what happens to Miami over the next week.
