Tua Tagovailoa’s explanation for the root of one of the Dolphins’ most critical errors in 28-6 loss to Ravens is a black-eye for the Miami fanbase
…in your own crib?
The Miami Dolphins fell to 2-7 on the season with a 28-6 defeat at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday Night Football. The Week 9 schedule got kicked off with an up close and personal look at the Dolphins’ disaster season continuing to unravel — Miami posting an impressive amount of yardage to go with an equally impressive amount of missed opportunities in the first half.
Perhaps no play was more critical than an early fourth-down effort by the Dolphins offense — which led to a false start by backup right tackle Larry Borom. Kicker Riley Patterson would go on to miss the ensuring 35-yard field goal attempt from 4th & 6. It created a brutal snowball effect for the Dolphins. What happened on that false start?
Starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa offered his explanation — and it is a massive black eye for the Dolphins fan base.
Tua Tagovailoa suggests that the Ravens fans in attendance contributed to Larry Borom’s false start on 4th & 1
“I would say with the Ravens fans, it maybe got a little muffled with my cadence and the crowd noise, so we kind of talked about that on the sideline after and got that corrected.”
— Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa on Miami’s 4th & 1 false start that led to a missed field goal
I feel like Cousin Eddie when Clark Griswold told the kids at Christmas Eve dinner that the news had spotted Santa Claus over New York City. “…you serious, Clark?!”
The Ravens fans were loud enough at a home game in Miami to negatively create a mistimed snap cadence on a pivotal fourth down in this game? In South Florida? At Hard Rock Stadium? This is the stuff that should be garnering the attention of team owner Stephen Ross as he weighs the state of affairs of his franchise. In a nationally televised spotlight game, the Dolphins were pushed into a false start by visiting fans.
Miami Dolphins’ 20+ point losses this season
- Week 9: 28-6 loss to the Baltimore Ravens
- Week 7: 31-6 loss to the Cleveland Browns
- Week 1: 33-8 loss to the Indianapolis Colts
That’s brutal. Not as brutal as dialing up what Mike McDaniel appeared to enthusiastically believe could have been a major hit for the Dolphins, but brutal none the less. McDaniel was seen emphatically yelling amid the error and said after the game that he was upset at the “self-inflicted wound”.
But so long as the Dolphins continue on this trajectory, there’s going to be a lot more noisy offensive possessions for Miami at Hard Rock Stadium. It underscores how far the team has fallen from the energizing bunch of 2023 that had the fan base daring to dream big.
Those days feel like a lifetime ago as Miami stumbles into the second-half of their 2025 schedule. And with so many games left to play this season, the only thing that may bring the fans back into the good graces of this team is conceding some of that change that everyone is currently calling for. Who knows if (and when) they’ll get it.
Miami Dolphins News
Mike McDaniel offers an all-too-familiar explanation for the Dolphins’ critical failed fourth-down attempt versus Ravens and it’s an indictment on everyone
It feels like Groundhog Day in Miami.
