As the concussed quarterback Tua Tagovailoa continues to sit on the sidelines while recovering from a hit, wide receiver Tyreek Hill has struggled with his production in recent weeks.
That was highlighted on Monday Night Football – when cameras caught an angry Hill seemingly screaming at Miami Dolphins staff as the team was losing late in the game against the Tennessee Titans.
It’s unclear what Hill was saying, but cameras panned to Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel intensely scanning the field ahead of a crucial 4th-and-11 play late.
Tyler Huntley, who is deputizing as the third-string quarterback for the team, ended up completing a pass on that ensuing play to extend the drive – eventually leading to a touchdown and Miami’s final points of the night in a 31-12 loss.
Huntley, who’s in not only for Tagovailoa but for the injured backup Skylar Thompson too, finished the night completing 14-of-22 passes for 96 yards as well as eight carries for 40 yards and a rushing touchdown.
An upset Tyreek Hill was seen screaming at Dolphins staffers on the sidelines on Monday
Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel was too locked into the play to notice Hill’s outburst
Hill, on the other hand, only finished with four catches on seven targets for 23 yards and zero touchdowns. He also ran the ball three times for 19 yards.
Miami, one of the favorites to win the AFC East division this season, was expected to take a big step forward this season with their eye on the AFC Divisional round of the playoffs after consecutive exits in the Wild Card round.
Now, with just one full game of a healthy Tagovailoa, the Dolphins are 1-3 and staring up at the rest of the division – including a fellow 1-3 team in the New England Patriots thanks to conference win percentage.
It’s not clear exactly when Tagovailoa is expected back after suffering from his third known concussion in his NFL career against the Buffalo Bills. But ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that he could be back as soon as Week 8.
Tagovailoa ran headfirst into Bills safety Damar Hamlin in Week 2 on Thursday Night Football – with the quarterback’s body almost instantly going into the ‘fencing response’ that indicates head trauma.
Since that, concern has been focused on Tagovailoa’s health – but also on the Dolphins offense as a whole.
With Tua in at quarterback, the Dolphins scored a combined 30 points in the first game – plus the first three quarters of the Bills game before he got injured.
Since then, the Dolphins have scored just 15 combined points across two games with Thompson and Huntley at quarterback.
Since a concussion took down Tua Tagovailoa, Miami’s receiver’s have been struggling
The receivers in particular have been struggling the most in Tagovailoa’s absence.
In the first two games of the season, the Dolphins put up a combined 531 yards of passing. Since the injury to Tagovailoa, his two backups have combined for only 218 total yards when accounting for sacks.
Hill has been severely lacking in production as a result of the injury to Tua.
In his first game of the season against Jacksonville, he racked up seven catches for 130 yards and a touchdown. In the three games since, he has totaled 10 catches on 18 targets for a measly 87 yards and no touchdowns – good for an average of 29 yards.
It’s clear that Miami is at a crossroads with their season and with Tagovailoa not interested in retiring due to his concussions, it’s not clear what the team’s options are when it comes to the trade market.
So it’s very possible that we could see similar frustrations being voiced by Dolphins players over the next few weeks.
