It’s not fair that one game can define how you view an entire season, but that’s what likely will happen with the Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins finished the regular season with the No. 1 offense in the league (401.3 yards per game) and No. 2 scoring offense (29.2 points per game), but fans aren’t feeling great about the future following the 26-7 Super Wild Card Weekend loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday night.
The Dolphins underachieving against good teams was a common theme all year. Miami went 1-5 vs. eventual playoff teams in the regular season, and 10-1 vs. teams that did not make the playoffs. If you count the most-recent Chiefs loss, Miami went 1-6 vs. playoff teams, and finished with a -110 point differential in those games. The monster victories over teams like the Denver Broncos or New York Jets don’t seem as great when you’re disappearing against teams that are half-decent.
Miami also crumbled down the stretch. Over the final four games of the 2023 campaign, the Dolphins scored 20-plus points just one time, and scored one touchdown on their final 16 offensive possessions. There’s plenty of blame to go around, but the play of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is and will continue to be a major storyline.
Tagovailoa had a great year overall. He finished the regular season as a top seven favorite to win NFL MVP, and helped guide the Dolphins to their first 11-win season since 2008. The 25-year-old led the NFL in passing yards with 4,624, was tied for fifth in passing touchdowns with 29, finished third in completion percentage (69.3%) and picked up 222 first downs through the air, which was tied for the second-most in the NFL. But, he was not dominant consistently or vs. everyone.
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W-L
1-5
10-1
Completion %
65.0
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71.7
Passing yards per game
232.3
293.6
TD-INT
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7-6
22-8
Against Kansas City on Saturday night, Tagovailoa completed 20 of 39 passes for 199 yards, one touchdown and one interception, while Miami recorded just 264 yards of total offense. Tagovailoa froze in what was the fourth-coldest game in NFL history, as one of the best offenses during the regular season didn’t even get to the red zone. Even Tagovailoa’s lone touchdown pass wasn’t a thing of beauty.
Tagovailoa entered this week having lost each of the five coldest starts of his career. It’s a narrative that has been around for a couple years now. Tagovailoa is 6-14 in games under 70 degrees, and 23-4 in games of 70 or more degrees. Is Miami just doomed to lose every road playoff game it will play in the future that’s not in a warm climate or indoors?
This offseason will be an interesting one for Miami. Tagovailoa is under contract for one more year thanks to Miami picking up his fifth-year option, which is fully guaranteed. So, sorry to those overly outraged fans who are hoping Tagovailoa will be cut this offseason. That’s not happening. Instead, Tagovailoa’s representation will likely ramp up talks on a potential extension.
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Spotrac’s market value tool predicts Tagovailoa is in line to sign a six-year, $302,781,786 extension that carries an AAV of $50.46M. That hypothetical contract would place Tagovailoa over Russell Wilson as the fifth-highest paid quarterback in the NFL. Is Miami comfortable locking in Tagovailoa on a deal near $50M per year? Is Miami even sold on Tagovailoa as its future quarterback? These are questions general manager Chris Grier and the front office will have to ponder in the coming months. There are benefits to locking down the quarterback you’re sold on as soon as possible, but Tagovailoa’s situation is not like the ones of Joe Burrow or Justin Herbert.
Some will look at how the 2023 season ended and be completely sold that Tagovailoa cannot take the Dolphins where they want to go. I don’t know if we can say that definitively. I think we can say Tagovailoa is not someone like a Patrick Mahomes or Lamar Jackson who can shoulder the load by themselves offensively, and will teams to victories. I also think we can say Tagovailoa is not the first quarterback you’re choosing in a game played in freezing conditions.
If I had to guess what happens next, it’s that the Dolphins do not sign Tagovailoa to an extension, and handle the upcoming season as a true “prove-it” campaign. Tagovailoa has made strides each year under Mike McDaniel. What’s that next step? Performing well against your best competition, and winning postseason games.
ORLANDO, Fla. — Lionel Messi scored twice in a four-goal second half, defender Telasco Segovia added a goal and two assists and defending champion Inter Miami CF rallied to beat Orlando City SC 4-2 on Sunday night, winning for the first time at Inter&Co Stadium.
Messi took a pass from Segovia and scored in the 57th minute to tie it 2-2, and Segovia scored unassisted in the 85th for the lead. Messi put the finishing touch on the victory when he scored off a free kick in the 90th.
“The victory belongs exclusively to the players,” Miami coach Javier Mascherano said after the game. “In the second half, they were a championship team. There were no tactics, nothing like that. There was heart, courage, possession, resilience, commitment. I think the team came out because they were champions last year.
“In the end, the players showed it. This victory is theirs.”
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Messi’s first two goals of the season give him 52 in his first 55 regular-season MLS matches — 51 of them in his past 49 appearances. It also brought the reigning MLS MVP to 898 career goals scored, including 672 for Barcelona and 115 for Argentina.
“He’s the best player to ever play this sport. He’s a leader, and as a leader, he inspires others, but he also often needs to be inspired himself,” Mascherano said of Messi. “When he was driving forward, he had more attacking options, and with so many opportunities, he clearly has the ability to create chances like no one else, and that’s what allowed us to turn the game around.”
Marco Pašalić took a pass from Iván Angulo and scored in the 18th minute to give Orlando City a 1-0 lead. Pašalić has scored in four straight matches against Inter Miami.
Inter Miami players celebrate after scoring a goal against Orlando City in MLS.
Defender Griffin Dorsey set up Martín Ojeda for a goal six minutes later for a 2-0 advantage that stood through halftime.
Inter Miami cut it to 2-1 four minutes into the second half on Mateo Silvetti’s first career goal. Defenders Segovia and Facundo Mura had assists as the 20-year-old forward found the net in his fifth career appearance.
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Segovia had eight goals and six assists as a rookie last season, while Mura collected his first assist in his first season.
Dayne St. Clair, the reigning goalkeeper of the year, turned away three shots — all in the second half of his second start with Inter Miami, but let in a soft goal for Orlando’s first.
Maxime Crépeau had four saves in his second start for Orlando City.
Teenager Colin Guske, 19, will miss Orlando City’s next match after the rookie picked up two yellow cards in his first start — the second one led to his exit in the 88th minute.
Inter Miami, which had never won in its previous nine trips to Orlando, was coming off a 3-0 road loss to LAFC.
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Orlando City swept Inter Miami during the regular season last year and leads the all-time series 8-7-4.
Inter Miami plays D.C. United on Saturday at Audi Field. Orlando City is also on the road with a match against New York City FC.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this recap.
Rain floods Miami Beach streets, cut short Miami Heat Family Festival
MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — Much-needed rain fell across South Florida on Sunday, but the downpour quickly led to flooding and traffic headaches.
“The drainage systems aren’t the best but in ten minutes it will be gone,” one person said.
The rain lasted longer than 10 minutes, flooding several spots along Collins Avenue in Miami Beach.
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In one neighborhood, at least a foot of water blocked the entrance. Drivers who attempted to pass through sent waves crashing onto nearby sidewalks.
The heavy rain also snarled traffic on parts of Interstate 95 and on the bridges to and from Miami Beach, slowing drivers trying to get around the area.
“It’s Miami for you. What do they call it, a sun shower?” one driver said.
The weather disrupted Sunday plans for many. The 26th annual Miami Heat Family Festival was cut short after strong winds swept through Dan Paul Plaza, knocking over several tents.
There is no word yet on how or when the Miami Heat plan to make up the family festival.
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Brett Knese
Brett Knese joined the Local 10 News team as a general assignment reporter in March 2025.
Jack and Jill of America’s Miami chapter closed out Black History Month with an inaugural “Roots Across Waters” trip to Nassau, where families explored ancestral sites, honored the Bahamian labor that helped build early Miami, and donated Afro‑Caribbean children’s books to local students.
