Pressure Point: Tyler Huntley’s inspired effort helps Dolphins keep playoff hopes alive
No Tua Tagovailoa with Dolphins’ playoff hopes on the line?
No problem with Tyler Huntley showing what he can do with enough time under his belt to learn Mike McDaniel’s offense.
The South Florida native threw for 225 yards and a touchdown, and ran for 52 yards including a 13-yard touchdown Sunday in a must-have 20-3 win at Cleveland to keep the Dolphins in the playoff hunt with a week to go in the season.
The topic of the coming week will be about the severity of Tagovailoa’s hip injury and whether he will be able to play on Sunday (4:25 p.m.) against the Jets and/or in the playoffs, if the Dolphins get there.
The injury is to the same hip that was surgically repaired in his final collegiate season at Alabama, though reportedly in a different spot.
He injured it two weeks ago in a loss at Houston and aggravated the problem in last week’s win against the 49ers. He was listed as questionable this past week before being downgraded to doubtful on Saturday and then ruled out before the game at Cleveland.
McDaniel’s remarks following the game about Tagovailoa’s injury did not sound encouraging: “Ultimately, he absolutely wanted to play. Wasn’t a pain tolerance thing. He not only was super susceptible to a much more significant injury, but a major factor was the lack of strength due to the injury and his inability to protect himself … From a medical perspective, it was not an option for him to play.”
TYLER HUNTLEY IS HIM
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— Dolphin Nation (@Dolphin_Nation) December 29, 2024
Fins’ playoff formula: Beat Jets, Chiefs beat Broncos
Huntley stepped in and delivered a standout performance as a stand-in that was lacking early in the season when Tua missed four games due to a concussion.
The win over the now 3-13 Browns drew Miami back to .500 at 8-8 for the first time since a 2-6 start.
It means the Dolphins can grab the last AFC playoff spot with a win on the road against the 4-12 Jets and a loss by the Denver Broncos at home against Kansas City.
Working against the Dolphins is that the 15-1 Chiefs have sewn up home-field advantage through the playoffs and have no incentive to use quarterback Patrick Mahomes and other starters in the regular-season finale. They won’t be saying, “We’ve got to help the Dolphins.”
The way Huntley played Sunday builds confidence he can handle the assignment against the moribund Jets, if needed. He completed 22 of 26 passes with a passer rating of 115.5 and showed an added dimension of mobility that Tagovailoa lacks.
It was an altogether different showing than in three appearances in September and October after he was claimed off the Baltimore Ravens’ practice squad.
Broncos, Dolphins, and Bengals all still have a lot on the line after week 17.
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— Sunday Night Football on NBC (@SNFonNBC) December 30, 2024
Huntley settles in to Dolphins’ offense
Huntley was rushed into action almost immediately when Skylar Thompson was injured in his first start after Tua went down. Thrown to the wolves was more like it.
Trying to execute a complex offense after only a few days to study it is like being pulled off the street and expected to work as a translator at the United Nations.
“A couple weeks in the office definitely makes a difference,” Huntley said after the game.
The Dolphins said this past week that they want Huntley to return next season to compete for the backup job. What he showed Sunday should improve his bargaining position.
Huntley connected with star wide receiver Tyreek Hill on 9 of 9 targets for 105 yards. His 7-yard touchdown pass to Jonnu Smith in the fourth quarter sealed the win. It was Smith’s seventh touchdown reception of the season, tying a Dolphins record by a tight end.
Huntley also had a nifty 13-yard run along the sideline for a touchdown that pushed the Dolphins’ lead to 13-3.
Considering the hole they dug for themselves early in the season, it’s a wonder the Dolphins are still alive in the playoff chase.
Their chances have improved significantly over the past two weeks. They got every pregame break from outside sources they could have hoped for with the Broncos losing to the Bengals in OT on Saturday and the Colts stumbling against the lowly Giants in an early game Sunday.
That loss dealt the Colts out of the playoff picture. The Bengals remain alive at 8-8, but the Dolphins would win a tiebreaker over Cincinnati based on best win percentage in conference games.
Dolphins’ running game stymied again
Another break for the Dolphins came with unseasonable weather for Cleveland for late December. Temperature was in the 50s when the game began.
They also got to face a struggling Browns team down to its third quarterback with Dorian Thompson-Robinson.
This game was not as one-sided as the score suggests. It looked very much like two teams playing out the season.
The difference was the quarterback play. Thompson-Robinson, at this point in his career, is not a competent NFL quarterback.
The Browns were the stronger team at the line of scrimmage. They sacked Huntley four times and pressured him often. They recorded 12 tackles for loss.
Cleveland completely shut down the Miami running game. Huntley had 52 yards on seven runs out of the pocket. Other Dolphins ball carriers netted 22 yards on 20 attempts.
The Dolphins were 2 of 11 on third down. McDaniel showed no confidence in a straight-ahead run on fourth-and-one in the third quarter. Instead he called a pitchout to De’Von Achane, and he was tossed for a loss of 2.
Miami also committed 11 penalties for 94 yards.
In one embarrassing sequence in the first half, the Dolphins got an interception by Tyrel Dodson at midfield. They ended up punting from their own 26.
The retreat began with a personal foul on Dodson for removing his helmet on the field. A holding penalty on Terron Armstead, Miami’s best lineman, and a sack of Huntley led to a third-and-27.
Soon after, Armstead left with a knee injury and didn’t return. It could be the end for the five-time Pro Bowl left tackle in a Dolphins uniform.
"That's one guy that stays afterwards. We get done with walkthroughs and he's doing JUGS."
@MiamiDolphins QB Tyler Huntley praises Jonnu Smith's work ethic after the big W
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@AJRoss_TV) pic.twitter.com/Sjmg63kDuJ
— NFL on CBS
(@NFLonCBS) December 30, 2024
Dolphins may have found backup QB
There was a bizarre moment late in the third quarter when McDaniel threw the challenge flag twice in a span of three plays. He lost both bids to have calls overturned.
By any subjective assessment, the Dolphins did not play or behave like a playoff contender Sunday. They haven’t all season.
And yet, here they are, with a probability of making the playoffs now at 33.6 percent, according to ESPN — NFL.com has it at 31 percent.
“What I’ve seen is guys not blinking every time things don’t go any way they hoped,” McDaniel said in his postgame presser. “As a result, we’re staring at another playoff game against the Jets.”
And then what?
Their quarterback was deemed too injured to play in a must-win game Sunday. Can they even count on Tua in the week or weeks ahead?
It is such a classic Dolphins situation. Keep in mind that they had to start backup quarterbacks in two of their past three playoff appearances (2016 season vs. the Steelers, 2022 against the Bills).
They are like a race car running the final lap on fumes and overextended tires. Still rolling. Destination unknown.
At least they may have found a viable backup quarterback.
Craig Davis has covered South Florida sports and teams, including the Dolphins, for more than four decades. Follow him on the site formerly known as Twitter @CraigDavisRuns.
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