Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa: We proved we can compete against cold-weather teams

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Tua Tagovailoa hopes he never has to hear questions about whether the Dolphins can play in the cold again.

But he might hear questions about whether they can win in the cold, against good teams, after the Dolphins took a 26-21 lead into the fourth quarter against the Buffalo Bills but still lost 32-29 on a last-play field goal.

The Dolphins actually extended their lead to 29-21 with 12 minutes remaining before Buffalo scored 11 unanswered points, including the deciding 25-yard field goal by Tyler Bass on the final play.

"After this performance, we’re able to put that to rest that we can’t play cold-weather teams or we can’t compete against cold-weather teams," Tagovailoa said.

NEVER MISS A SNAP: Sign up for our NFL newsletter for exclusive content

The game kicked off in 30-degree weather that was better than what it could have been until snow started falling in the final nine minutes. That’s when the Dolphins received a kickoff (following a Buffalo touchdown and two-point conversion) and took to the air despite deteriorating conditions. Raheem Mostert was stopped for a 1-yard gain in the only running play from that point on. That’s despite rushing for 108 yards in the first half.

For a while, the Dolphins’ strategy worked. Tagovailoa found Tyreek Hill for 13 yards and Cedrick Wilson for 21 before a second-down throw to Tyreek Hill lost 3 yards, setting up a third-and-12 incompletion to Jaylen Waddle and a punt.

Miami never got the ball again. The Bills took over on their 7 and moved 86 yards in 15 plays to set up the field goal.

"As a team we handled the elements pretty well for a team that comes from 80-degree weather," Tagovailoa said.

Tagovailoa and Waddle rejected any idea of a moral victory.

"It sucks losing," Tagovailoa said of the team’s third straight loss, all on the road.

Tagovailoa finished 17-of-30 for 234 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions and a 104.0 rating. Waddle caught three passes for 114 yards and a TD; Hill had nine receptions for 69 yards and a 69-yard score.

The most positive sign for the offense, though, was that the ground game accounted for 188 yards and a 7.5 average, including 136 yards by Mostert.

"We really wanted to establish ourselves in the run game," Tagovailoa said. "That was the game plan. And we built off that throughout the game."

They did except for two third-and-short situations in the second half. Tagovailoa threw incomplete to Waddle on one and found Durham Smythe for a 2-yard loss on the other. Coach Mike McDaniel said passes were called to “stay ahead of what the defense is doing” because the Bills were focusing on stopping the run.

"You have a choice," McDaniel said. "You can either play scared or your can try to continue doing what your offense is built to do."

The game continued a streaky season for the Dolphins, who this season had a three-game losing streak, a five-game winning streak and now another three-game losing streak.

At least this loss felt different to them.

"Had we played like that for the whole season, we would be feeling a lot different," McDaniel said. "Because it wouldn't be our third loss in a row."

At one point, referee Bill Vinovich warned fans the Bills could be penalized if they continued to throw snowballs toward the field.

"I wasn’t hit by a snowball, but there were some near misses," Tagovailoa said.

Tagovailoa made it clear there were no hard feelings. Unprompted, he closed his interview session with a message to Buffalo fans.

"I also would like to give a shout out to Bills Mafia, their fans," he said. "I remember when I had my concussion that they started a whole ordeal of donating to my foundation. And that hasn’t been lost. I just wanted to throw that out and just say that I really appreciate that."

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Tua Tagovailoa: Dolphins proved they can handle cold weather vs. Bills