The Miami Dolphins lost to the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday night 26-7 which ended their 2023 season after just one playoff game.
Mike McDaniel’s team started the year off great, but a collapse against the Tennessee Titans late in the season and three straight losses to end it leaves a sour taste in everyone’s mouths around the organization and fan base.
After the game, McDaniel and a number of players, including quarterback Tua Tagovailoa addressed the loss and the season as a whole.
FB Alec Ingold
“We set records together. We are going down in the history books together, statistically. At the end of the day, we didn’t win. At the end of the season, it’s tough, you have to learn your lessons. I feel for all of the guys. You put so much time in and the league, it turns over real fast. There is going to be a third of this room that’s not going to be here next year, and reality hits fast and it hits hard. I’m soaking in the last moments I have with these guys.”
RB Raheem Mostert
“A loss is always disappointing, especially during a time like this where it’s a playoff run, Wild Card Game, it’s aways tough. It’s all about being resilient, coming back the following year. I know a lot of guys who have, if you lose, the dude who I’m talking about, going to Cancun. I am not planning on a damn Cancun trip. I’m more trying to get back right-side and be ready and available for next year.”
DL Christian Wilkins
“I told the guys in the locker room that this is the most fun I’ve had since I’ve been in the league, since I’ve been a Miami Dolphin. It’s because what the guys do every day, what they bring, how much it means to them. I think we’ve definitely made big strides. There’s still room to improve as a team, as an organization. I think the formula is there, and that is what will happen in the years to come.”
LB David Long Jr.
“We put in so much work to get to a point to hopefully get to the next level. Nothing is guaranteed. It just hurts when you put so much work into something and everything doesn’t come into fruition. It just hurts. I’m a passionate player. I wanted more for these guys, especially for this team. You don’t get to be part of this kind of team that many times. I wish we could have taken advantage of it, to be honest. It is what it is. I hate to say it. I hate that. I hate that phrase, ‘It is what it is’. I wish we could have done more.”
WR Tyreek Hill
“It’s tough. Especially with the type of team that we got. Obviously, there are high expectations of everyone. We hold ourselves to a standard. We were definitely expecting us to be a really good team this year. We definitely weren’t expecting a first-round exit. Also, the message in the locker room was simple. Whenever you’re working out, take this loss with you. Remember this feeling. Because it’s not fun being on the other side of a loss, especially when you know the season is over for you. No more football checks.”
QB Tua Tagovailoa
“It sucks, brother. Losing sucks in general. It doesn’t feel good, I’ll tell you that… I would say there’s been a lot of ups and downs. There were a lot of guys that started out the season with us and weren’t able to finish the season with us. A lot of ups and downs with injuries. For our team, we never want to use any of those things as an excuse. We’re not going to use that as an excuse. That’s what I would say for how the year went, ups and downs.”
HC Mike McDaniel
“I am not in the appropriate place to reflect on the entire season. I think the entire thing about this team and a team sport is that we had goals that we didn’t accomplish tonight. I think one of the reasons it hurts so bad is that nobody on this team harbored all the excesses or all the different variables that people talk about, injuries or weather. We came here to win, and it didn’t happen. We fell short of our goals. We had very strong expectations of ourselves. One of the reasons a lot of people don’t put themselves out there and hold those expectations is because when you fall short from them, it’s emotional and gut-wrenching. In terms of categorizing the season or other macro things about stuff moving forward, I don’t think it does justice to the team in the appropriate way. We lost a game. We were 100 percent all in, fearlessly playing as though we would win, but hats off to the Kansas City Chiefs. They beat us, outplayed us, outcoached us, all those things. That is where my mind is at. I will be better answering that during the week when you next see me, but tonight is about tonight. It hurts.”
