Miami, FL
Time for Miami to bench Tua Tagovailoa? ‘Very rash and shortsighted’
Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s Monday night stats look as though they could have come from a victory. The former Alabama All-American completed 22-of-28 passes for 253 yards with two touchdowns and one interception for a passing-efficiency rating of 113.2.
But they didn’t come from a win. They didn’t even come from a game that the Dolphins looked ready to win.
Miami lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers 28-15 on Monday night, ending the Dolphins’ four-game winning streak and dropping them from among the AFC’s playoff contenders with three games remaining on their regular-season schedule.
“Supremely disappointed in the outcome,” Miami coach Mike McDaniel said, “and I think it does a disservice to, really, the objective, the work that we were doing on this opponent. And flat out, their team was better than our team.”
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Miami trailed 7-3 before a disastrous third quarter. Pittsburgh scored a touchdown on each of its first three second-half possessions while the Dolphins’ third-quarter possessions were both three-and-outs. On the six plays, Miami netted minus-20 yards, with Tagovailoa sacked on third down on both series.
Tagovailoa dropped back on seven third downs in the game. He completed two passes for 41 yards, threw one incompletion, got sacked three times and scrambled for a 1-yard gain.
With the Dolphins’ season set to end on Jan. 4 now, McDaniel was asked if he would consider using Zach Wilson and Quinn Ewers at quarterback now.
“I think it would be very rash and shortsighted if I even tried to tackle that option,” McDaniel said. “I think I have to look at the tape, and I’ll move on from there. But, realistically, I’m just supremely disappointed that we couldn’t come out with a win here. We had high expectations, and they fell short.”
After the Dolphins fell behind 28-3, Tagovailoa completed 16-of-18 passes for 194 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. He failed to connect on two 2-point conversion throws.
Miami had won four games in a row by averaging 192.25 rushing yards per game and compiling more yards on the ground than through the air in each contest. Against Pittsburgh, the Dolphins netted 63 yards on 16 rushing attempts.
“There were just some things offensively that we were doing that we were messing ourselves up, really,” Tagovailoa said. “Just basically every aspect from my communication to the guys with them getting in the huddle, calling the plays, getting out, guys knowing where to go with their alignments, some of that.”
In its next game, Miami plays the Cincinnati Bengals at noon CST Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.
“At the end of the day, it’s about pride that you have for yourself,” Tagovailoa said about playing out the string, “your last name on your back, who you are as a husband, who you are as a father, as a son, as a teammate, all of that. So we’ll see come on Wednesday. …
“You got to take yourself back to whatever it was — that 12-year-old kid. You take yourself back to that, and you tell yourself like, ‘Dude, what if you were playing in the NFL?’ You’d be ecstatic. That would have been your dream. You get to live it. But with that being said, you also got to come out with a sense of urgency of: Do you take pride in what you do when things are going good and when things are going bad? Because it falls into every asset of what you do in your life. So that was sort of my message to the guys after the game.”
To no one’s surprise, FC Cincinnati and Inter Miami CF engaged in a scorefest May 13 at TQL Stadium.
A hat trick by one of the best goalscorers in the history of the game, Lionel Messi, sparked Miami to a 5-3 win. Miami scored three times from the 79th minute on to come from behind.
A sellout crowd of 25,513 witnessed the showdown, the club’s sixth home sellout of the season.
FC Cincinnati falls to 4-5-4, staying at 16 points, taking its first loss since April 4 at Red Bull New York. Miami improves to 7-2-4 for 25 points, improving to 7-1-1 on the road this season. Miami moved into second place in the Eastern Conference behind Nashville. Cincinnati started the night tied for fifth but could drop depending on games later on.
Second half highlights as FC Cincinnati squandered a late lead
Cincinnati took a 3-2 lead in the 64th minute.
Evander fired a rocket from the top of the 18 into the top left corner. Deneky passed ahead to him, then he maneuvered around two defenders, and no one stepped up to him. It is Evander’s seventh goal of the season.
Miami tied it in the 80th minute, 3-3.
After a Cincy turnover, Rodrigo De Paul quickly found Messi in transition, who delivered to Mateo Silvetti. Silvetti, playing his first game in a month, maneuvered in space and scored from the top of the box for his fourth of the season.
Miami took a 4-3 lead in the 83rd. A Messi free kick from 35 yds was saved by Cincy keeper Roman Celentano. He collided with Andrei Chirila, which knocked the ball out of his hands. Miami’s German Berterame pounced on the rebound to give Miami the lead, his fourth goal of the season.
Chirila landed hard after the collision and was taken out of the game.
Miami took a 5-3 lead when Messi made a sliding shot after a cross from Silvetti. The ball went off the post, then off Roman Celentano, who was on his stomach trying to get the ball, then in. Messi was credited with the goal and a hat trick.
FC Cincinnati took a 2-1 lead in the 49th minute.
Pavel Bucha scored from close range. He took a crossing pass from Bryan Ramirez after Denkey found him on the left side in transition.
It was Bucha’s second goal of the MLS season and the second assist for Ramirez. Bucha was hit in the head late in the first half and examined by trainers, but stayed in the game.
Moments later, Messi had a free kick from 30 yards saved by Celentano.
Messi scored again in the 56th minute to tie it, 2-2. He had a nice give-and-go with Rodrigo De Paul, who dribbled near the end line and crossed to him from the right side. Messi was unmarked and scored easily from near the penalty spot.
In the 62nd minute, Luis Suarez missed an open shot that Celentano saved, set up by a quick transition by Miami.
Miami ended with 17 shots to 10 for Cincinnati, six on target. After an even first half, Miami controlled the expected-goals mark, with 4 to 1.6 for the home team.
First half highlights
Messi scored from close range in the 24th off a turnover by Matt Miazga. Miazga tried to pass to a teammate on the side but the pass went straight to Messi.
He had a goal in the fifth minute waved off by offsides.
In the 32nd minute, Cincinnati won a corner kick, which Evander placed right in front of the goal line but the ball was cleared away.
In the 42nd minute, a Kevin Denkey penalty kick tied it up. Denkey drew the PK after collecting a good pass into the box by Pavel Bucha and being grabbed by Gonzalo Lujan. Denkey converted for his team-high eighth goal of the season.
The first half was tied 1-1 and virtually even on statistics. Both sides had seven shots, one on goal, and 1.1 expected goals. Neither keeper made a save.
What’s next for FC Cincinnati?
Cincinnati heads to the West Coast to play San Diego FC 9:30 p.m. Saturday, May 16. It is the first meeting between the teams. San Diego, 3-5-4 for 13 points, was set to play Austin later May 13. Cincinnati will leave for California on May 14.
A wildfire has scorched over 11,000 acres in Florida’s Everglades, just outside the Miami metro suburbs, prompting officials to warn nearby residents of dangerous smoke.
The Max Road Miramar Fire is straddling the line between Miami-Dade and Broward counties. At least 11,000 acres have been burned, and the fire is 80% contained, according to the Florida Forest Service.
The fire was first reported Sunday. The Pembroke Pines Police Department said that drivers stopping to watch the fires along US-27 were causing dangerous traffic backups.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said they were working with state forest officials to protect nearby properties.
Florida Senator Rick Scott urged people on social media to adhere to any local road closures.
Aerial footage showed flames in the vicinity of a local subdivision, and smoke could be seen billowing for miles.
This comes in the middle of Florida’s wildfire season, which is being compounded by a historic drought ongoing across the state.
Almost 2,000 wildfires have burned nearly 120,000 acres just since the start of the year, the forest service said earlier this month.
Wildfires south of Jacksonville canceled and delayed Amtrak service last month.
While the vast majority of the state is under Exceptional or Extreme Drought conditions, Miami itself is roughly an inch below average rainfall, year-to-date.
However, parts of the Everglades are also experiencing Extreme Drought.
Fire officials are warning residents to take precautions if smoke is impacting your area. Those with respiratory conditions, older adults and children may be especially sensitive to smoke exposure.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue is advising people to stay indoors when possible and set home and vehicle A/C systems to recirculate.
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