The Miami Dolphin They will feel very much like the road team during Saturday night’s game against the opposition Buffalo bills. old man winter He arrived in Buffalo Friday night, he left behind about eight inches of white matter. Buffalo isn’t done snowing yet, as a lake effect snow warning is in effect until 1 p.m. ET on Sunday.
Orchard Park got a break from the snow in the morning, but things are expected to pick up again later today. according to hourly forecasts, the precipitation will go from “a few snow showers” at 2 PM ET, to “snow showers” by 5 PM ET, and then an immediate “snow shower” when kicking off at 8:15 PM ET. So expect a lot of peak-time deliveries.
Dolphins do their best to prepare for the grim conditions bringing 1,400 lb trunks along with cold weather gear to Orchard Park, For all NFL media. Each player has several cleats to try to find the best footing in the snow.
Tua Tagovailoa was unsuccessful in cold weather games during his three years at center for the Dolphins. He is winless in the four coldest games he has started, with a passer rating of just 61.4. In those games, Tagovailoa only scored three goals while turning the ball six times, according to CBS Sports senior research editor Doug Clawson.
The coldest game in Tua Tagovailoa’s career
2020 | in Bronco | 20-13 | 11-20, 83 yards, 1 TD |
2020 | in Belize | 56-26 | 35-58, 351 yards, 1 TD, 3 INT |
2021 |
in Belize |
24-21 |
21-39, 205 yards, y |
2021 |
in titans |
34-3 |
18-38, 205 yards, y |
As you can see, two of Tagovailoa’s cold weather losses have come against the Bills, who will host the Dolphins in what will be the coldest NFL game in Tagovailoa yet. The expected temperature on Saturday will be between 25 and 28 degrees, making it the first NFL game in Tagovailoa to be in freezing conditions. Snow showers are also expected, which will make pitching more difficult.
Coach Mike McDaniel Minimize the conversation Of the Dolphins battling it out in cold weather this week, “It’s the same field, same items” for both teams in Week 15, and wearing a jersey to practice with, he told reporters, “I wish it was cooler.”
Tagovailoa also didn’t put much stock into the sleet and snowy forecast, which calls for a 27-degree temperature drop, 11-mph winds, and an 85% more snow probability, According to Weather.com.
It snowed in Alabama my freshman year. So it snowed in Alabama, folks“People don’t know that. Some people think it’s cold, but it’s snowing,” Tagovailoa said during his news conference Wednesday.
“It’s a mentality thing,” he said. “If I’m very focused and worried about whether it’s too cold, can I grab the ball, or can’t I, I’ll say I’m concentrating on the wrong things. It’s going to be difficult to play like that while playing against a really good team.”
To be fair, Tagovailoa’s past struggles in cold weather games shouldn’t be solely attributed to him. He was a starter during Miami’s road losses at Denver and at Buffalo late in the 2020 season. In the slumped Miami by 30 points to finish the season, Tagovailoa and the Dolphins offense threw an uncharacteristically high number of passes as they tried to keep their playoff hopes alive.
Tagovailoa’s other cold-weather losses came against superior teams in Buffalo and Tennessee. Nor did those games include his new coach or wide receiver Terek Hill, who made several big plays Sunday night.
A win this weekend will not only keep the Dolphins in the running for the AFC East Champions League title, but also stem the growing narrative that Tagovailoa and company can’t make it in colder climates.
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