Tua Tagovailoa had mentioned earlier that the Miami Dolphins had a chance this week to change the story that they struggle in cold weather.
However, the Dolphins fell short again in the cold, losing 30-17 to the Green Bay Packers on Thursday night, with light snow falling. The loss ended their three-game winning streak.
The Dolphins (5-7) have now lost their last 12 regular-season or postseason games when the temperature at kickoff was 40 degrees (4.4 Celsius) or lower. The temperature at Lambeau Field on Thanksgiving was 27 degrees (-2.7 Celsius), with 10 mph winds and a wind chill of 18 degrees.
“We’re definitely not going to use that as an excuse,” said defensive lineman Calais Campbell. “I know obviously, with the narratives from years past or whatever, I get it. But today wasn’t that bad.”
Packers safety Xavier McKinney said the weather made a difference. “Obviously, they’re coming from Miami, it’s hot there, and then when you come here and play in that cold weather, you get affected by it,” McKinney said. “So I think it affected everybody on that team.”
Miami’s last win in a game that began with a temperature of 40 degrees or below was a 34-31 overtime win at Buffalo on December 24, 2016.
The conditions on Thursday were much better than what the Dolphins faced in the wild-card playoff game last year, where they lost 26-7 to Kansas City. That game had a temperature of -4 degrees (-20 Celsius) at kickoff, with a wind chill of -27.
Although the weather didn’t seem to have a major effect on the Dolphins’ performance, they weren’t as sharp as they had been during their recent winning streak, which had revived their playoff hopes.
Tagovailoa completed 37 of 46 passes for 365 yards and two touchdowns, but he was sacked five times and didn’t get much support from the team. Miami had to play catch-up after the Packers took a 27-3 lead in the third quarter.
“I would say, from my standpoint and our team’s standpoint, we’re not going to use any of that as an excuse for why we didn’t get the start that we wanted,” Tagovailoa said.
A muffed punt by Malik Washington gave the Packers a first-and-goal, setting up their first touchdown. The Dolphins also committed 10 penalties, including six in the first half.
“We weren’t failing to snap the ball before a delay of game or false-starting because of the cold,” coach Mike McDaniel said. “I think the tape will show that, when we watch the tape. But like anything else, eventually you have to overcome it if you’re trying to do anything in this league.”
In the first half, the Dolphins had to settle for a field goal when they had a goal-to-go situation. In the fourth quarter, they couldn’t score at all after reaching second-and-goal from the 1-yard line.
The defense, already missing linebacker Anthony Walker and cornerback Kendall Fuller, lost nickel back Kader Kohou and cornerback Cam Smith to injuries during the game.
It seemed almost fitting that in the cold weather, the Dolphins took 2 1/2 quarters to get warmed up.
“When we’re playing our best ball, we can beat anybody,” Campbell said. “But today was definitely not our best ball.”
Miami has enough talent to come back from almost any deficit, and they made a push to make the game competitive.
The Dolphins scored a touchdown, stopped the Packers on third-and-1 with a stop of Josh Jacobs, and then drove down the field again. They had second-and-goal from the 1-yard line early in the fourth quarter.
But they couldn’t get that last yard.
De’Von Achane was stopped on second down. Tagovailoa missed a pass to Jonnu Smith on third down and was then sacked on fourth down.
From there, the Packers took control of the game, and the Dolphins were left with another loss in the cold, hurting their chances of making the playoffs for the third year in a row.
“As far as season hopes, I would say this one was a tough one for us as a team,” Tagovailoa said. “I know what this game meant to a lot of guys in that locker room. I wouldn’t say the dream’s dead for our team just yet. Anything can happen in this league.”
The Dolphins now have little room for error. To have a chance at the playoffs, they need to find a way to win in cold weather. Miami’s final two regular-season games are on the road against the Cleveland Browns and the New York Jets.
“I think our guys will look forward to executing in the cold weather the next opportunity, because I think they know they can,” McDaniel said. “So they need to, and they want to.”
