Tua Tagovailoa commits four turnovers as Dolphins fall to Texans in Houston.
The Dolphins had a great opportunity to close the gap between themselves and the last couple of playoff teams in the AFC on Sunday when they visited the Houston Texans. If they had won, they’d have finished the day within a game of the playoffs with just three games to play as the Los Angeles Chargers fell to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at home.
However, the narrative that the Dolphins can’t go on the road and defeat quality opponents lives on as Miami shot themselves in the foot over and over (and over and over) again — committing four turnovers on the day and only putting up a single touchdown en route to a 20-12 loss to the Texans.
Technically, the Dolphins aren’t eliminated from playoff contention. If they were to win their final three games and the Chargers and Indianapolis Colts continued to falter, they’d be in the postseason, but that possibility doesn’t even seem worth talking about with the way our South Florida squad squandered Sunday’s matchup with Houston.
Instead, let’s look back at the good, bad and ugly from the team’s week 15 loss to the Texans.
GOOD
Dolphins rookies have solid outings despite failures around them
While the rest of the team played very poorly on Sunday, three of Miami’s rookies looked like solid contributors against the Texans.
First, Miami’s second round pick, left tackle Patrick Paul, got the start for the injured Terron Armstead. Paul was tested by one of the stiffest pass rushes in the National Football League as the Texans boast a pair of dominating edge rushers in Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson Jr. Paul held his own and didn’t look out of place — which is more than could be said about Miami’s third string right tackle, Jackson Carman, who is a veteran in the league.
Miami’s first round selection, Chop Robinson, also had a few splash plays on the day — registering 1.5 sacks against the Texans. Robinson now has five sacks on his rookie season and looks to be a piece the Dolphins can count on in the future.
Finally, Malik Washington — Miami’s 6th round selection in the 2024 NFL Draft — had his best day as a wide receiver this season. He brought in five receptions for a team high 52 yards against Houston.
Yes, those three performances were a small silver lining to an otherwise extremely dark cloud of a game, but it’s something to build on for the future of this franchise.
BAD
Tua Tagovailoa commits four turnovers in single score loss
Tua Tagovailoa’s string of phenomenal outings came to a crashing halt on Sunday in Houston as the young quarterback threw three interceptions while also losing a fumble in the loss. The four turnovers proved very costly as Miami only lost by a single score on the afternoon.
It was easily Tagovailoa’s worst game since he returned from injury on October 27th against the Arizona Cardinals.
Tagovailoa finished with just 196 yards passing, a single touchdown throw and a 60.0 quarterback rating.
For Tagovailoa, the non-good games never seem to be just a little bad. They always seem to be catastrophic. He either throws for 300+ yards and multiple scores, or he commits multiple boneheaded plays and turns the ball over numerous times.
The entire team will need to clean things up moving forward if they want to finish the season strong and leave a good taste in the fanbase’s mouths heading into the 2025 NFL season.
UGLY
Dolphins receiver Grant DuBose exits game on stretcher
The Miami Dolphins didn’t just get insulted on Sunday in Houston — there were plenty of injuries too. Wide receiver Jaylen Waddle suffered a knee injury early on and never returned.
But it was the injury to Grant DuBose that was truly the scariest part of Sunday’s loss.
DuBose was reaching for an ill-advised Tagovailoa throw when he was violently hit in the helmet by Texans defender Calen Bullock. DuBose stayed on the turf while being attended to by medical staff — his teammates and opponents alike kneeling in prayer a short distance away.
For multiple commercial breaks — nearly 11 minutes — Dubose was motionless on the field. His facemask was removed from his helmet. His jersey was cut from his body. He was placed in a neck brace.
Eventually he was stretchered off of the field and taken to a local Houston hospital.
Following the game, multiple Dolphins players expressed that DuBose was in good spirits and doing well. “I just feel bad that I even put him in that situation to have gotten hit. It was tough to move on after that happened,” said Tagovailoa.
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The Dolphins couldn’t prove the naysayers wrong on Sunday, losing to the Texans by a score of 20-12. Their playoff hopes are still alive, but not by much. What do you think the team needs to change going into next season if they are to find success moving forward? Let me know in the comments below or on Twitter at @MBrave13. Fins up!