Miami Dolphins and Tua Tagovailoa answer questions in tough loss

The Miami Dolphins lost to the Buffalo Bills on Saturday night and while many expected it, there was a lot to learn from the game.

If there was any lingering doubts about Tua Tagovailoa or the Dolphins after horrible games against the 49ers and Chargers, they should be gone after Saturday night. Yes, the Dolphins lost to the Bills but it took the Bills all 60 minutes to beat them and they needed to come back.

Unlike Buffalo, the Dolphins left points off the scoreboard.

• Dropped TD pass by Trent Sherfield in the end zone.
• Contested but catchable drop by Tyreek Hill in the end zone.
• Decision to go for 2 instead of taking the extra point (could have led to a two-score game later).

The Dolphins defense was far from perfect but there were opportunities to keep points off the board.

• Missed pick-up of Nyheim Hines TD catch.
• End of the first half TD with no time remaining.
• End of the game PI that gave put the Bills in FG position to win the game.

So yes, there were mistakes by both the offense and the defense but we learned a few things too.

• Tua Tagovailoa can throw the ball in cold weather.
• Tua Tagovailoa does not, in fact, fold under big-game pressure.
• Mike McDaniel can go toe-to-toe with anyone’s defense (still should have beaten the 49ers).

I hate losing games and I hate losing games to the Bills especially but I’m not mad this morning. Disappointed? Absolutely, upset, throwing stuff, irritable and pissed off? Not today.

Miami could have won that game and probably should have won it. They played so well that the Bills were the ones who were being pressured to find a way to win in the 2nd half. Miami dominated the second half and almost came away with a big win.

I was hoping to see the Dolphins climb out of the funk they had been in for the past two games and they delivered. It was the tail end of a three game road streak that sadly Miami lost all of.

The Dolphins still have something to prove and they have not finished what they started this season but Saturday night got them back on track. Tua got back into a flow and while there were missed opportunities and some very bad calls by the referees, the Dolphins showed they are ready for January. They showed that their season hasn’t been a fluke.

Miami lost to a very good football team Saturday night. It’s the kind of loss that can turn a season around in a good way. It wasn’t a loss that left you needing answers or internally trying to figure out what went wrong like the last two games. It was a loss. Now, the Dolphins have more work to do because the reality is, a loss still hurts.

The chances of the Dolphins winning the AFC East are less than 3% but they still hold their own fate for a Wild Card spot and will even with a loss to Green Bay given they finish against two other would-be Wild Card hopefuls, the Patriots and Jets.

One other thing, and maybe the most important, the Bills are not the juggernaut that many people think they are. They are more than beatable and the whole, Bills lost in Miami because of the sun, storyline is over done. The Bills are good but they are not great and last night, Miami should have won.