MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The most alarming part of Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa’s latest no-show game under the lights?

The Buffalo Bills were begging him to throw the ball in the second half, and he couldn’t.

After Sunday night’s 21-14 loss to the Bills, which likely ended the team’s realistic Super Bowl hopes and sent them to frozen Arrowhead to face the Kansas City Chiefs in the Wild Card Round, Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel mentioned how the Bills loaded the box in the second half to stop the run.

Single-high safety looks against Tagovailoa and Tyreek Hill should be a layup drill. Instead, Tagovailoa averaged an astounding low 3.6 yards per attempt in the most important two quarters of his career.

The last of his 14 second-half attempts was a pick thrown into double coverage, his 19th and final turnover in 17 games this season.

“I think we did have opportunities,” Tagovailoa told reporters after his fifth loss in six games against teams in this year’s NFL Playoffs. “We just didn’t make the best out of those opportunities when we had them. Missed throw, miscommunication on some plays. You just can’t do that. Yeah, you can’t do that.”

The Miami Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa Dilemma

The Dolphins built all year for the past two weeks. Had they beaten the Ravens and Bills to close out the season, they would have been the AFC’s 1 seed, with all the trappings that come with it.

But the offense — McDaniel’s calling card — vanished at the worst possible time, managing just 33 points and turning the ball over five times against the Ravens and Bills. As a result, their path to Las Vegas is absurd — at Kansas City, then likely at Baltimore, and then at Buffalo.

The Dolphins need an elite quarterback to navigate that stretch. Tagovailoa, while improved under McDaniel, is at least one tier below the best.

In six games against playoff teams this year (five losses), Tagovailoa completed 65% of his attempts, averaged 6.9 yards per pass, with seven touchdowns, six interceptions, and an 84.1 passer rating.

“We need to not turn the ball over and still be able to be aggressive while doing that,” McDaniel said. “I think that’s the name of the game of every quarterback, and that’s what Tua does. If there is a player that I’m very confident in how they handle things that maybe don’t go their exact way, you want to talk about a tough minded individual, that’s what Tua is.

“He’ll be harder on himself than he needs to be, but that’s what you want from your quarterback. He takes full accountability. I know he’s pretty frustrated, but I look forward to him being able to get back out there and righting some wrongs. It’s definitely not all on him at all. It’s not even close to that. Very fortunate for his play. He puts us in position to win, but there are times where he knows he can do better, and that’s what he’ll have to do moving forward.”

Good for McDaniel to support his guy. But patience might wear thin if Tagovailoa lays another egg next week.

Plus the idea floated in some quarters a few weeks ago that Tagovailoa might become the highest-paid player in NFL history this offseason at this point is not based in reality.

Committing $50 million-plus annually to a guy good enough just to get you a road playoff game or two each year is how you wreck your franchise for a half-decade.

The Dolphins led 14-7 at the break and could have gotten the Bills monkey off their backs. Instead, they had three first downs in the second half and no plays longer than four yards.

Tagovailoa is the quarterback. He’s gotten the credit when things were good. But he also needs to expect the lion’s share of blame.

“I don’t have to defend [Tagovailoa],” Dolphins tackle Terron Armstead said. “I got to protect [him]. He’s a confident guy. He’s locked in, on a mission, a goal. We have all the faith in the world in him.

“We believe in him. He’s incredible. He’s amazing. The criticism, the media are going to write their – you guys got a job to do – you’re going to write your reports, make your stories and narratives. We got a job to do, too. We got to come in, prepare, and go get a big win on the road. I know ‘1’. He’s going to be locked in. He’s hungry to win. He is the leader of this team. So we’ll be ready.”

If Tagovailoa doesn’t show up next week, will McDaniel, Chris Grier, and Stephen Ross still feel the same way?