Pressure Point: Dolphins’ latest debacle more about incompetence than cold weather

Unlike Thanksgiving leftovers, the Miami Dolphins’ 30-17 drubbing at Green Bay is as tough to swallow the day after as it was Thursday night before a national audience.

Because it was so predictable. And oh, so, familiar.

The longstanding narrative that the Dolphins can’t win in cold weather was reinforced. But it’s not so much about the temperature as it is about the time of year.

The Dolphins have been failing miserably under similar circumstances for years: in impactful games against top teams, on the road, late in the season, when typically it is cold.

Tua Tagovailoa hasn’t been able to shake the stigma of lack of big-game success. But even with the best quarterback they’ve ever had, the Dolphins couldn’t win these type of games.

Dan Marino was 8-17 against Jim Kelly and the Bills, including 0-3 in playoffs.

You’d think a serious football franchise would rise to the occasion, occasionally. But this high-stakes ineptitude has literally spanned decades, before the uniforms they wore Thursday night were considered throwbacks.

Dolphins manhandled by Packers

And it’s not always about being on the road in the cold. They lost the 2023 regular-season finale at home in ideal weather to the Bills with the AFC East title on the line. That earned them a trip to freezing Kansas City and another non-competitive first-round exit from the playoffs.

Sure, it was a tough assignment Thursday at frigid Lambeau Field off a short week. And it didn’t help that the first time the Dolphins got their hands on the ball they dropped it — muffed punt by Malik Washington that gifted the first touchdown a few plays later.

But this game was lost at the point of attack. The Packers simply mauled Miami.

The Dolphins couldn’t block and they couldn’t tackle. That will leave you on the wrong end of 30-17 every time.

The running game went nowhere — a mere 39 yards, average of 2.8 yards per carry — which has been a problem even in recent wins at home against bottom-feeding Raiders and Patriots. The backs had trouble just getting to the line of scrimmage.

Meanwhile, Dolphins defenders were getting carried by Packers running backs and receivers like sacks of mail, if they didn’t whiff on tackle attempts altogether.

How cooked are the Dolphins? pic.twitter.com/OUr2aNwytf

— CantaLoupe (@CantALoupe_FF) November 29, 2024

Terrible tackling doomed Dolphins

The Dolphins had an ungodly 20 missed tackles. Twenty! That is unacceptable at any level of football.

Not sure how you blame that on the cold.

Nor the five sacks allowed, including on fourth-and-goal at the Green Bay 1 in the fourth quarter. They were also flagged for holding on that play, so it was doomed either way.

The Dolphins, playing to maintain slim playoff chances, showed no desperation or resolve. Their heads weren’t in the game either, evidenced by 10 penalties assessed for 75 yards.

The so-called second-half comeback bid was a mirage, the padded stat totals meaningless. Teams like the Dolphins don’t come back from 24-3 at halftime after being manhandled and embarrassed for 30 minutes on national TV by a top-tier opponent.

The Dolphins whenever it’s not 80 degrees out pic.twitter.com/siCtlrIjnb

— Brother Bill (@BrotherBill716) November 29, 2024

Dolphins’ playoff hopes all but dead

Likewise, spare us the flimsy mathematical possibilities that the 5-7 Dolphins could still make the playoffs if they win their final five games … and a cow jumps over the moon.

That would require winning two cold-weather games, albeit against the middling Jets and Browns. They also must play at Houston against the AFC South-leading Texans.

Here’s a glaring stat: the Dolphins are 0-4 this season against teams currently in playoff position and have been outscored by 58 points in those games.

That is a lot of 30-17 results, or thereabouts. But it’s nothing new. Last season the Dolphins were 1-6 against teams that went to the playoffs.

The Mike McDaniel era is simply continuing the serial incompetence that has spanned coaching staffs, front-office regimes and ownership since the last century.

So tired of the Dolphins.

Same movie on loop every year.

— Manny Navarro (@Manny_Navarro) November 29, 2024

Dolphins keep repeating mistakes

There was hope that the team profile would change when Bill Parcells was brought in to run the football operation after the 1-15 2007 season. Instead, Parcells gave us Tony Sparano, who was best known for punting and kicking field goals.

What they needed was Tony Soprano. Less of mister nice guy and more of a strong-armed approach.

That hasn’t changed. The final word on the latest frigid fiasco was linebacker Jordyn Brooks saying late Thursday, “I thought we were soft. Simple as that, I thought we were soft today. I don’t know if guys were too cold. … I don’t know what it was. I feel like the elements played a part in how we played as a group, and that was the result that we got.”

It is a result Dolfans know all too well. With no reason to expect improvement any time soon.

This franchise misses on too many draft picks, then has to overspend on free agents to try to make up for it. That keeps them tight on the salary cap and unable to invest in the depth of talent needed to succeed.

What you get is a 30-17 comeuppance, time and again.

Craig Davis has covered South Florida sports and teams, including the Dolphins, for four decades. Follow him on the site formerly known as Twitter @CraigDavisRuns.