The Dolphins fall to 0-2, and bad might soon become worse for embattled coach and GM

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MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa didn't see the banner plane that was flying over his team's stadium on Sunday morning, the one a group of fans hired to call for the firings of embattled Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel and general manager Chris Grier.

That said, he did hear plenty of booing from the crowd.

And after the Dolphins lost 33-27 to New England on Sunday, Tagovailoa almost sounded like he would have booed as well if he were one of those fans.

For the first time since 2020, the Dolphins are 0-2 — and bad might soon become worse. Sunday's final score wasn't as one-sided as Week 1's 33-8 loss at Indianapolis, but that was no consolation. The Dolphins found plenty of ways to botch a chance of winning — from giving up a kickoff-return touchdown 12 seconds after a punt return midway through the fourth quarter gave them a lead, to not even being able to get plays and personnel in from the sideline properly with the game on the line in the final moments.

“I wouldn't say there's alerts going on right now saying, ‘Man, the season’s over,'” Tagovailoa said. “I think the alerts are more on, ‘Dude, what are we doing that we’ve done all these other years to start fast and help us get to where we want to go?’”

Tagovailoa was on the Dolphins team that started 0-2 in 2020; he was a rookie who hadn't played yet. Wide receiver Tyreek Hill was starring for Kansas City at that time. McDaniel was San Francisco's run game coordinator. Together in Miami, they were supposed to be the offensive triumvirate that finally found a way to make the Dolphins contenders.

There have been moments in recent years. Hints of hope. They seem long forgotten now.

“Ultimately, I look at absolutely everything falling on me,” McDaniel said. “That's the responsibility of the head coach. You go into (this) knowing that. That being said, I’m very frustrated. There’re some coaches and players that did not execute communication in a very dire period of the game, with the game on the line. Our communication and our substitution was not up to par. And ultimately, I hold all responsibility for all things."

McDaniel pointed out that all hope is not gone. At least one team that started 0-2 has made the playoffs in each of the last three seasons; three teams did it last season alone.

That also said, only six teams — and one since 1998 — have gotten to the playoffs after starting 0-3. The Dolphins play at Buffalo on Thursday night, and oddsmakers will surely expect Miami to be 0-3 after that one.

“Pressure is an opportunity,” Hill said. “We've got the right guys in the building. We’re coming every day with the right mindset. We’re just looking to attack every day and get better, so that’s how we’re going to approach it.”

Tickets for the Dolphins' home opener were being sold on the secondary market for the stunningly low price of around $30 before the game. The Dolphins were booed by fans after their first possession. They gave up the kickoff return touchdown to lose the lead late, then saw De’Von Achane step out of bounds on what nearly was a go-ahead score with about a minute left.

And then first-and-10 became first-and-20, the Dolphins seemed to lose all momentum in an instant, and 0-2 became reality. The crossroads of a season, even with 15 games left, might have arrived.

“Fans pay money, their hard-earned money, to come and see their team play,” Tagovailoa said. “We go out there and we don't look the part as we have in previous years. It's all understandable and it comes with the game. You get the boos, you get the cheers.

“For us, mentally as players, we're going to stay even-keeled. We've got to stay together. We've got to continue to trust one another and build off of whatever this game was.”

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