The Miami Dolphins just suffered a brutal 28-6 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. And the major talking points of the game were Tua Tagovailoa’s mistake and the Dolphins’ penalty struggles. So, in the post-game, Mike McDaniel addressed it.

“There was a multitude of failures in a critical situation on that one,” he said on the fourth-and-2 call to De’Von Achane.

As per Mike McDaniel, the incomplete pass from Tua Tagovailoa to De’Von Achane, who was not moving on the fourth and 2 play, was blamed on miscommunication and a failed play execution. But McDaniel’s frustration didn’t stop there.

“We were minus three [in turnovers], they were three for three in the red zone and we didn’t score a touchdown. You have to cross your t’s and dot your i’s in the National Football League. It’s very disappointing. Unfortunately, we will have to sit on the disappointment for 10 days.”

What makes it worse is that Mike McDaniel’s team actually looked better early on. The Dolphins outgained the Ravens 225 to 109 in total yards and dominated possession. They had ten first downs to Baltimore’s four. But somehow, they trailed 14-6 at halftime. For all the yardage and control, the scoreboard told a completely different story.

And it got uglier from there. The Dolphins made three red-zone trips and came up empty every time. Two other drives ended in Riley Patterson field goals. That’s six points total, and zero touchdowns, for the second time in three games. In fact, it’s the third time this season they’ve been held under ten points. After the game, Tua also addressed the loss.

Tua Tagovailoa owned up to his mistakes

The Miami Dolphins didn’t just struggle against Baltimore; they fell flat in the most crucial moments. Tua Tagovailoa didn’t dodge responsibility either.

“I think for us offensively just started with the little things. We’re off a little bit here on this play, we’re off a little bit there on that play, and we just couldn’t find our flow in that. And then when we did find our flow, we had some penalties, we had some issues going on with that. So I would say first off that all starts with me and got to continue to get our guys better in that aspect.”

And, his performance didn’t help Miami too. Tua went 25-of-40 for 261 yards with no touchdowns and one interception. Another rough outing. Now sitting at 11 interceptions on the season, it’s clear that decision-making has been a growing problem.

But, the most painful part? The Dolphins had six points to show for 225 first-half yards. That’s 116 more than the Ravens had.

“I would say it’s frustrating offensively, and all the guys felt that same way,” Tua admitted. “Frustrating because we knew we were a little off here, we were a little off there and we had some mistakes, we had some penalties, some crucial ones at that, and we just weren’t able to capitalize. And so we felt we were moving the ball pretty well in the first half. We just weren’t showing anything for it, really.”

After the loss, though, Tua said the team didn’t walk out silent. “When we come back on Monday, we’re ready to work.” Now sitting at 2-7, the Fins face the Buffalo Bills next. But the real question across Dolphins Nation is: has their season already slipped away?