Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel revealed Jaylen Waddle's frustration after the wide receiver left the game against the Houston Texans with a knee injury. Considering the AFC playoff hunt, the Dolphins' defeat at NRG Stadium was a missed opportunity. This defeat occurred as the seventh-seeded Los Angeles Chargers lost against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Now, Tua Tagovailoa and the company will seemingly have to win out to give themselves a reasonable chance to make it to the postseason.
Jaylen Waddle's departure definitely hurt Miami's chances. The Dolphins could only muster twelve points on the road and committed four turnovers. Waddle left the game with a right knee injury in the first half. He had two targets and zero receptions before this setback. According to Miami Dolphins beat reporter for the Sun Sentinel David Furones, Mike McDaniel revealed that Jaylen Waddle was “super frustrated” about his knee injury. Miami's head coach could not provide a further medical update beyond that.
The Dolphins need a lot of help to get into the postseason
On a very somber note, Miami Dolphins wideout Grant DuBose left the game with a head injury. The second-year wide receiver out of Charlotte took a scary hit during the third quarter. DuBose was subsequently transported to the hospital. The Montgomery, Alabama native is currently in stable condition. Thoughts and prayers go out to DuBose and his family.
Mike McDaniel's team had an opportunity to get within a game of the playoffs on Sunday. At 6-8 now, Miami is the ninth-place team in the AFC. The two teams the franchise will need to jump are the 6-8 Indianapolis Colts and 8-6 Los Angeles Chargers. Luckily for the Dolphins, they hold the tiebreaker over the Chargers, so they do not need Los Angeles to lose out to get in. However, that scenario would be ideal.
Miami's last three games will be against teams in dire straights. The most challenging matchup is the first one, which is at home against the San Francisco 49ers. The perennial Super Bowl contenders have had a dismal season, sparking speculation that head coach Kyle Shannahan has lost the locker room. Despite this adversity, San Francisco has not been eliminated from the NFC West hunt. This proud franchise will enter this game in the Sunshine State very motivated.
The Dolphins' last two games are on the road against the Cleveland Browns and New York Jets. Both franchises are eliminated from playoff contention and would probably be better served with a loss. However, the Jets are coming off a win at Jacksonville on Sunday. Miami already won the previous affair between the two AFC East rivals in a 32-26 thriller at home.
Overall, the Dolphins need a healthy Jaylen Waddle to win out and give themselves a chance to sneak into the postseason. The star wideout is looking to extend his streak of consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons to four. At 700 yards with only three games left, Waddle must be 100% to keep that streak intact.
In addition, Tua Tagovailia will need help rebounding from his brutal, three-interception affair on Sunday. If the Dolphins don't bounce back from this loss, the franchise will have a lot of soul-searching to do over the offseason.
