The Miami Dolphins franchise is no strangers to playing games in frigid conditions. The team from South Florida is 3-7 all-time when the temperature is 23 degrees Fahrenheit or colder. During the Dolphins Lambeau field showdown with the Green Bay Packers on November 28th, the wind chill was 18, and the weather was 27 degrees with wind speeds of 10 mph.
Hawaii native and Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has never won an NFL game in which the starting temperature was 45 degrees or less. The Dolphins averaged 16.4 points per game in those cold-weather games while their opponents put nearly 32.4 points on the board.
In many ways, this was a game of two halves. Early in the game, the Packers” challenges to move the ball seemed to presage good things ahead for Miami. The Pack’s inability to move the football forced them to punt early in the game. The moisture and confusion caused by swirling snow flurries led to a muffed punt. Broadcaster Mike Tirico wasted no time nicknaming that error a “faux-punt”. More roasts would come at the Dolphins’ expense, including a mouthful by Josh Jacobs. After more of the same plays that Dolphins Head Coach Mike McDaniel called “self-inflicted wounds,” the Dolphins finally repossessed the ball after a break in scoring by the Pack.
On their first promising drive down the field, Tua and the rest of the offense found themselves affected by crowd noise that they had been prepared was coming. Crowd noise triggered an ensuing delay of game penalty that resulted in yet another drive ending prematurely. Only a field goal could be salvaged as the Dolphins returned to the tunnel to regroup for the second half. There were not too many positive takeaways from the first half, and yet the Dolphins had managed to get on the board, trailing 24-3 at the half. Coach Mike McDaniel downplayed his team’s woes in interviews to reporters during halftime.
This Thanksgiving night game at Lambeau field will not go down in the annals of Dolphins lore as an iconic game for Dolphins fans. Conditions were most challenging in the first half. Snow flurries left their mark on a field that quickly went from wet to slippery.
During this much heralded Thanksgiving broadcast, much was made of the extra pounds of winter gear that the Dolphins had packed and shipped to Lambeau field for more comfortable playability. This included winter gear, hand warmers and space heaters. Most of the Dolphins players looked like they were dying to get out of the cold. In their oversized long puffer coats, they looked so stiff and uncomfortable on the bench. Even the spectator who has no knowledge or savoir-faire when it comes to football could immediately see that those guys were waiting for a warm-up to be on the way. However, the cold truth about professional football played in harrowing elements is that only by immersing themselves body and soul in the game will any player have the chance to warm up.
Unfortunately the head-scratching play calls of Mike McDaniel never gave his players a chance to warm up. He dialed up next to no running plays in the first half. The Dolphins offense had to go back and sit down almost immediately after taking the field. The very conservative, short yardage play calls resulted in quick three-and-out drives that negated any adrenaline-inducing long plays down the field. It also played into Green Bay’s hands, a franchise that remembers going against another Miami Dolphins quarterback; all-time great Dan Marino had a career record of 7-8 in career cold weather games. The game plan to stop him was to stop the run and make him dial up passing plays in the cold. As Dolphins fans, we must go back in time 32 years, all the way back to the Dan Marino-led team of the 1990’s to find a game when the Dolphins won in the cold.
In this 2024 Thanksgiving game, the Dolphins didn’t get a chance to warm up and get involved in the game. Thankfully, the game ended up being a tale of two halves. The uninspired play calling of the first half with its dearth of running plays transformed into some creative plays for Tua in the second half. He was effective getting the ball to a variety of receivers in space. Though the Dolphins racked up a few efficient drives to make the final score a respectable 30-17, the outcome of this game was never in question. Green Bay running back Josh Jacobs summed up the play of the Dolphins in the challenging conditions when he quipped, “Them boys looked cold out there.”
Weather conditions continued to challenge the Dolphins in the second half. The Packers dialed up clock-chewing momentum-grabbing plays like a litany of jet sweep run plays for wide receiver Jayden Reed. While on the other side of the ball, Tua was continually troubled by sacks coming off the edge, unabated due to crowd noise interfering with audibles and preparation. Poor tackling didn’t help Miami’s cause as even seven-time Pro Bowler and typically sure-handed tackler safety Jalen Ramsey missed some crucial tackles allowing the Packers to control the game clock as they continued to possess the ball.
In retrospect, we knew the Dolphins at Green Bay would be a tough test with many setbacks. If we’d seen the 39 total game rushing yards for Miami as well as only 5.8 average yards per play coming, then we probably could have predicted a final score close to the official 30-17 score that went into the history books.