The Miami Dolphins miss out on a win against the Buffalo Bills despite good chances in the play-off game. Head coach Mike McDaniel stands out negatively with strange calls – and has a special explanation

The signs were actually clear before the Wild Card duel between the Buffalo Bills and the Miami Dolphins.

On the one hand, the hosts from Buffalo, who marched through the regular season with a record of 13:3 and want to finally celebrate the much-awaited first Super Bowl triumph with Josh Allen. On the other side are the Miami Dolphins, who after five straight losses slipped into the playoffs on the last day of the regular season with a tough 11-6 win over the New York Jets.

But not only the course of the season, but also the fact that the Dolphins had to start with their third quarterback seemed to point to a clear success for the Bills. In the end, however, it did not turn out that way.

Although Miami trailed early with 0:17, thanks to four consecutive scores they managed to equalise within only seven minutes and before halftime. Josh Allen allowed himself two interceptions, and the Bills did not play as convincingly as they did a few weeks ago.

And yet, in the end, the scoreboard showed a 34:31 victory, which was less due to the Bills than to a chain of errors on the part of the Dolphins.

Dolphins coach with several blunders in playcalling

THE moment of disaster par excellence: A penalty for time play a good two minutes before the end. On the way to the end zone, a third attempt with one yard left to go had failed to gain the Dolphins any space. Visible to all TV viewers in the aftermath: fourth try and a yard to go.

According to Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel, he did not have this information. So he explained after the game that his team had told him that the team had gained a new first down. When he realised the mistake and wanted to call a new play for the fourth try, he ran out of time. The consequence: five yards penalty for “delay of game”.

Backup playmaker Skylar Thompson failed to connect with a teammate on the ensuing fourth-and-six, the Bills regained possession and needed only one more first down to run down the clock. Game over.

Mike McDaniel complains of miscommunication

Miscommunication on the decisive play – and not only that. Again and again the young head coach had problems of this kind. “It shouldn’t happen as often as it did in this game,” McDaniel said later.

“Especially the last and decisive penalty had to do with the fact that there was some communication suggesting that we got a first down,” the head coach explained. He was unable to say whether the fault lay with officials or fellow coaches.

The Dolphins’ misery, however, had started much earlier. The team was moved back five yards at the line of scrimmage four times because of time penalties.

Final. pic.twitter.com/0meVcm8mwF

– Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) January 15, 2023

So before the decisive fourth try, McDaniel had wasted all three of the team’s timeouts before in similar situations and couldn’t stop the clock in crunch time to avoid another penalty.

Quarterback Thompson takes blame

“There were a few variables that made the game difficult,” the 39-year-old continued, describing, “The noise from the fans, problems in the huddle in terms of communication and getting to the line of scrimmage.” He continued, “One reason we weren’t able to win the game was because of all the miscommunication.”

According to the report, the miscommunication on the headset, with fellow coaches, etc., had led to McDaniel repeatedly making mistakes in the timing of his calls and giving his announcements later than he normally would have. The beginning of the end for the Florida team.

But while McDaniel repeatedly placed the playcalling disaster squarely in the faulty communication, signal caller Thompson admitted guilt. “I felt like we struggled in our game in general at times today. I take full responsibility for that,” he announced afterwards.

For the rookie quarterback and his rookie head coach, the season, and especially the first and, for now, last playoff game, should be a lesson – and provide plenty of material to work on in the offseason.