Dolphins' Tyreek Hill: Lack of Practice Reps with Tua Contributed to Drops vs. 49ers

   

Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill was targeted for three incompletions during Sunday's 29-17 win over the San Francisco 49ers and Hill attributed the miscues to a lack of practice reps with starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.

Sharp] a lot of people questioned if Tyreek Hill would work in Miami  because of concerns with Tua's deep accuracy but in his first year in  Miami, on passes thrown 15+ yards,

"I feel like, at the end of the day, I need those valuable reps with Tua," Hill said after the game, according to ESPN's Marcel Louis-Jacques. "Those vet rest days are starting to show. I completely blame myself for not getting my head around and not seeing the ball because, if I see a ball, we're talking cross-court, 70-yard touchdown. But those Wednesday reps are definitely showing. As a leader, I've just got to be able to bite the bullet sometime and practice and get those valuable reps with QB1 because, if we're able to stay on the field on third down, who knows what could happen."

Hill was targeted seven total times with three receptions, 29 yards and one touchdown in the victory. In addition, Tagovailoa completed 22-of-34 passes for 215 yards and one touchdown.

"On the deep ball, it was tipped by the defensive back, and on the other one, it's just, again, missing those valuable reps with the quarterback," Hill said, per Louis-Jacques. "One thing I learned from Coach Reid whenever I was in Kansas City, I was blessed to be able to play under such a great head coach, is you can't just show up on Sunday. You've got to be able to prepare yourself Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, even Saturday. Then when it's Sunday, it's easy."

The wide receiver's first dropped pass came on a third-down attempt during Miami's opening drive, leading to a punt. Later in the first quarter, Hill dropped another potential third-down conversion in the end zone, though the pass was slightly tipped by 49ers cornerback Deommodore Lenoir. The drive ended with a successful field goal by Jason Sanders.

Hill's final drop occurred late in the third quarter, once again in the end zone on a third-down attempt. The miscue led to another successful field goal for Miami.

Before the game, Hill was listed as questionable due to a wrist injury he has dealt with throughout the season. According to Louis-Jacques, Hill missed Wednesday practices in two of the last four weeks and has been listed as "limited or worse" in at least one practice each week during that span.

Leading up to Sunday's game, Hill missed Wednesday's practice, participated fully on Thursday and was limited on Friday.