The Dolphins and especially veteran QB Tua Tagovailoa had hoped to flip the narrative around their performances on cold weather nights. While Tagovailoa did put up a fight, the rest of the team froze on the occasion, as the Dolphins went 5-7 overall and the QB is now 0-8 in games where temperature is 45 or lower. So, was the weather once again a factor? LB Jordyn Brooks believes they were “soft.” However, his HC Mike McDaniel rebuffed this claim, or rather, re-narrativized it, and instead, questioned his team’s application.

Coming off a three-game winning streak, the Dolphins’ loss in the Week 13 Thanksgiving matchup 17-30 against the Packers at Lambeau Field put their playoff hopes in jeopardy. While they remain in contention for the AFC wild-card race, they will be relying on other teams to do them a favor. Speaking after the game, McDaniel was unhappy at how his team, especially his defense were not able to cope with what the Packers threw at them.

The tone for the game was set early. Packers backup quarterback Robert Rochell recovered a muffed punt by Miami’s Malik Washington inside his own 10-yard line. Then instead of the Dolphins getting the ball after a three-and-out on the first drive of the game, Jordan Love got it back and threw the first of his two touchdown passes to Reed. Miami’s defense never recovered and by the end of the first quarter, the Packers racked up 14 points.

The Dolphins were also found behind in the turnover play. They fumbled once before their first offensive drive and turned the ball over twice on downs. Those turnovers led to 13 points for Green Bay, which ultimately proved to be the difference between the two sides.

“I think the weather and the cold, I didn’t really see that as much of a factor as playing football and technique and fundamentals and bringing our feet collectively and getting our hips into tackles and wrapping up,” McDaniels told the reporters.

In the highly competitive league, no team could expect a victory after missing 20 tackles, more than double the league average of eight. This also seems to be a lingering issue and a worrisome trend. The Phins missed 12 tackles against the New England Patriots last week and eight against the Las Vegas Raiders the week prior.

Packers’ running back Josh Jacobs was a particular thorn in the Dolphins’ side. Despite being limited to a season-low 2.3 yards per carry, he forced Miami’s defense into 10 missed tackles. Green Bay’s Wide receivers Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks and tight end Tucker Kraft also forced multiple missed tackles from the Phins’ defense. There was another problem that didn’t allow McDaniel’s team to progress in the game.

“The biggest thing is that on a Thursday night game in a short week, you have to be clean. And we weren’t and they were a lot cleaner in terms of penalties, in terms of you know, just our style of play, how complementary we were specifically in the last game, we were not that tonight. And I thought they made us pay. For instance, the first drive you’re three and out to get the ball back and that special teams turnover equaled seven points a turnover on downs on the one yard line equaled 7.7 points. That’s 14 points and a 13 point game,”

During their three-game winning run, the Dolphins had been penalized eight times for 55 yards. Against the Packers on Thursday, they conceded 10 penalties for 75 yards. The defensive struggles could also be put down to the fact that they were already without linebacker Anthony Walker (hamstring) and cornerback Kendall Fuller (concussion).

Moreover, the already thin Dolphins defense also lost Cornerbacks Kader Kohou (back) and Cam Smith (shoulder) in the first half and didn’t return. Defensive tackle Benito Jones also suffered a back injury but returned in the second half.

Talking about his team’s shortcomings, McDaniel added, “Eventually, you have to overcome it if you’re trying to do anything in this league. … Our guys will look forward to executing in the cold weather at the next opportunity. I think they know they can, so they need to and they want to”

Having played in the league for more than 15 years, Dolphins Defensive Tackle Calais Campbell was also quick to identify the problem. After the game, he said, “That’s the game right there. 20 missed tackles, it’s hard to win. I think it was one of those days where what could go wrong, went wrong. … I don’t ever want to make excuses, but I felt like today, the ball bounced their way and they made the plays to win the ball game.”

Meanwhile, Brooks, on the other hand, seemed to have a slightly different take than his head coach. “I feel like we let the elements control the way that we played. As a group, I thought we were soft. Simple as that. I don’t know if guys were too cold, I don’t know what it was, but I feel like the elements played a part in how we played as a group.” Brooks said postgame. But the hope is not lost in the locker room. They are still dreaming big, at least Tgaovailoa.

Tua Tagovailoa still hoping for a playoff seat for Phins!

Against the Packers, Tagovailoa 37-of-46 passes for 364 yards and two touchdowns. He also avoided an interception for just the third time in his eight cold-weather games. Even though Tagovailoa couldn’t end his cold-weather losing streak, he stayed positive after the game.

“This one was a tough one for us as a team… I wouldn’t say the (playoff) dream’s dead for our team just yet, anything can happen in this league,” he said.

With 5 wins and 7 losses, the Phins are 2nd in the AFC East division and 9th in the conference. They still have a chance to reach the playoffs and would need the LA Chargers and the Denver Broncos to falter. Will that happen? That remains to be seen. For now, they will need to improve their defense to be in the running.