Miami Dolphins: 10 observations from Sunday’s victory over Steelers

10 observations from Miami Dolphins win over Steelers

6. I wished Flores was out of the booth and on the field

One of the biggest story lines of the game was the return of former coach Brian Flores to Miami and his estranged relationship with Tagovailoa, and both were asked questions about the situation throughout the weekend. Dolphins fans had hopes that Tua would stick it to his former nemesis, and he did, but Flores was out of sight.

During the first quarter, Flores was shown with a headset on, but in the comfortable confines of the coaching booth, high in the sky and out of ear and eye shot of Tagovailoa and the rest of the Dolphins players. It would have been nice to see the two come face to face at some point, something that Tua confirmed never happened. When asked if he spoke to Flores, Tua said simply, “Nope”.

7. McDaniel’s questionable decisions

This was undoubtedly the worst game that Mike McDaniel has coached thus far, and he would have received a healthy portion of the blame if the Dolphins had wound up losing the game. His most scrutinized call will be his decision to go for it on 4th and 3 instead of extending the lead to 9 with a field goal, but it is the play call itself that I have the biggest problem with.

Chase Edmonds has been one of the most disappointing players on the Dolphins roster in 2022, yet McDaniel decided to put the ball in his hands instead of Tua Tagovailoa’s in order to pick up the needed three yards. Not only did Edmonds fail, but he did so in the exact same fashion as he did on the previous play, which McDaniel decided to double down on. Taking the field goal would have extended the lead to two scores, and would have made the final minutes of the game far less anxiety-inducing.