In Week 17, the Miami Dolphins were able to keep their postseason hopes alive without star quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who missed the game due to an injury. And after the game, Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel wasn’t exactly confident that Tagovailoa would be available for the team’s final game of the regular season.
In Tagovailoa’s absence, former Pro Bowler Tyler Huntley had his best game of the season, throwing for 225 yards and a touchdown hile completing 84 percent of his passes.
Huntley also added in 52 yards and a rushing touchdown on the ground. Ultimately, his steady play was enough for the Dolphins to get a big win over the Cleveland Browns to stay in the AFC playoff picture.
While Huntley’s solid play is undoubtedly a positive, Tagovailoa still clearly gives the Dolphins the best chance to win. And with their back remaining up against the wall in a must-win Week 18 game against the New York Jets, Dolphins fans would surely love to have Tagovailoa available for the game.
According to Mike McDaniel, that may not be the case. In his postgame press conference, McDaniel remained skeptical that Tagovailoa would be available as he deals with his lingering hip injury.
“It was not ideal in any way, shape, or form to have a game like this,” said McDaniel of Tagovailoa’s absence, retrieved by Pro Football Talk. “Not having him available. We’ll be hopeful for that as we progress. But I can’t even lean one way or the other really. So, we’ll see what the world has in store for us.”
Obviously, this kind of comment doesn’t inspire much confidence about Tagovailoa’s availability in the season finale. This should be a huge concern for Dolphins fans considering their current situation.
In order to sneak into the postseason, the Dolphins need to both win in Week 18 and get some help around the league. Particularly, the Dolphins need for the Kansas City Chiefs to defeat the Denver Broncos.
The first step for the Dolphins is of course to beat the Jets. But that task gets much trickier without someone like Tagovailoa at quarterback.
With that being said, it will be interesting to see what kind of updates we get about Tagovailoa’s health as we get closer to the biggest game of the season for the Dolphins.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.