Some fans of the Miami Dolphins have been critical of the team’s physicality throughout the 2024 season. After the 30-17 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Thanksgiving, Dolphins linebacker Jordyn Brooks voiced that criticism too.
Brooks was highly critical of his team’s performance in Week 13, calling his team “soft” in front of reporters after the game.
“I felt like we let the elements control the way that we played,” Brooks said to the media, via FinsXtra. “I thought we were soft. Simple as that.
“I thought we were soft today.”
According to CBS News, the Dolphins have lost 11 straight games when the kickoff temperature was below 40 degrees. The temperature sat in the mid-20s throughout Thanksgiving night at Lambeau Field in the Dolphins’ loss to the Packers.
Jordyn Brooks Has 1 Word for Dolphins’ Poor Tackling
Without a doubt, the NFL is a passing league. But any time a team struggles to run the ball, it’s difficult to sustain enough offense to win.
In Week 13, the Dolphins had 39 rushing yards. They averaged 2.8 yards per carry.
The Dolphins have failed to reach 100 rushing yards in four consecutive weeks. The 39 rushing yards are also the fewest Miami has recorded in a game this season.
Miami’s inability to be tougher on offense has contributed to the team’s lack of running game. The Dolphins had an opportunity to begin mounting a second-half comeback versus Green Bay. But they were unable to convert second-and-goal from the Packers 1-yard line.
The Dolphins, though, weren’t physical on defense either. According to NextGen Stats, the Miami defense missed 20 tackles.
After the Packers loss, The South Florida Sun Sentinel’s Chris Perkins asked Brooks whether it felt like his defense missed 20 tackles during the defeat. The veteran linebacker kept his answer very brief.
“Yeah.”
Brooks, who leads the Dolphins in tackles this season, had 9 total tackles in the loss. He also had 1 quarterback hit.
Dolphins Don’t Change Narrative at Lambeau Field
Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa shared after the Week 12 victory against the New England Patriots that he was “excited to kill narratives” against the Packers on Thanksgiving. But instead of killing narratives, the Dolphins only added fuel to them.
Miami hasn’t won a game that took place in weather below 40 degrees since 2016. Tagovailoa now holds an 0-8 record in such games.
The Dolphins have never been a good team in cold weather. They entered Week 13 with a 3-7 all-time record when the temperature is 23 degrees or colder.
So, the team’s problems in the cold started long before any of the current players or coaches joined the organization.
But being a team built on speed doesn’t help in the colder months of the year. That came to the forefront late last season and appears to still be true a little past the midway point of the 2024 season.
Brooks and the Dolphins, though, could have another opportunity to show more toughness in the cold later this season. Miami will visit the Cleveland Browns and the New York Jets in the final two weeks of the regular season.
