<a href="https://www.on3.com/db/tua-tagovailoa-116794/">Tua Tagovailoa</a> continued his rough stretch in the second half of the season for the Miami Dolphins. But head coach Mike McDaniel came to the defense of his quarterback following multiple interceptions in a loss to the Green Bay Packers.



“It’s a challenge, but it’s also something that every quarterback really goes through,” <a href="https://www.miamidolphins.com/news/transcript-mike-mcdaniel-s-media-availability-december-25">McDaniel said postgame.</a> “It’s kind of one of those necessary things that you have to really figure out how you don’t let mistakes snowball and that’s one of the reasons the approach and the way we’ve gone about things has been so intentional in that regard, because you can’t let the past influence the present.”



Tagovailoa finished the loss against the Packers 16-of-25 passing for 310 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions. The Dolphins had a 20-13 lead at halftime but did not score in the second half.



“I think that there could be some portions of that that have to do with him kind of snowballing in his own mind, but he’s such a strong individual that the good news is that I’m very confident that he’ll be able to get through that,” McDaniel said. “It’s just that this team needs him. This team needs myself to make sure that all those situations are not putting him behind the 8-ball. And then the quarterback needs the rest of his team to be able to execute so that he doesn’t have to do too much on his own. 



“There was one of the interceptions that the primary receiver kind of busted, ran the wrong route, a concept that we ran numerous times this week, and so it’s not just him. I’ll look at the tape and have probably more concrete answers for you guys tomorrow, but overall, that is a team failure, not a one-person failure.”



On paper, Tagovailoa is in the middle of the best season of his career and has 3,548 yards, 25 touchdowns, eight interceptions and a 64.8% completion percentage. But after an 8-3 start this year, the Dolphins lost their last four games, including the last three by just one score.



“We’ve been learning hard lessons for the last month of games, and at some point if we want to make the next step, we’re going to have to put up or shut up,” McDaniel said. “It is tough, but also nothing comes easy in this game, and the one thing I do know is if you’re able to dig yourself out of it, it does benefit you in the next phase of the season because that’s where you don’t want to have wilting or snowballing of play or really not-clean football. 



“Bottom line is it is what it is. What type of people are we and are we able to really get through this together, because there’s no one else outside of that team meeting room that’s going to come save us. We have to figure it out ourselves.”

On3 Pros

5GOATs

Mike McDaniel defends Tua Tagovailoa after Dolphins 26-20 loss to Packers

team image

Pro News

NFL News

NFL Draft News

NASCAR

NBA News

NBA Draft News

Culture

Sports Betting

About

Football

Basketball

Women's Basketball

Softball

Baseball

Alabama

Arizona State

Arizona

Arkansas

Auburn

Baylor

Boston College

California

Removed

Clemson

Colorado

Duke

Florida

Florida State

Georgia

Georgia Tech

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Iowa State

Kansas

Kansas State

Kentucky

Lettermen Row

Lettermen Lounge

Louisville

Maryland

Miami

Michigan State

Michigan

Minnesota

Mississippi State

Missouri

NC State

Nebraska

North Carolina

Northwestern

Notre Dame

Ohio State

Oklahoma

Oklahoma State

Ole Miss

The Main Board

Oregon

Oregon State

Penn State

Pittsburgh

Purdue

Rutgers

South Carolina

Stanford

Syracuse

Tennessee

Texas A&M

Texas

Texas Tech

UCLA

Utah

Vanderbilt

Virginia

Virginia Tech

Wake Forest

Washington

Washington State

West Virginia

Wisconsin

BamaOnLine

BOL Round Table

Inside Texas

IT Members Only

DawgsHQ

Dawg Walk

Scoop Duck

Recruiting & Sports

AuburnSports

The Corner

WeAreSC

GarryP's Trojan Huddle

The Wolverine

The Fort

The Lions Den

The Wolfpacker

The Wolves’ Den

GatorsOnline

Swamp Talk

Alabama A&M

Alabama State

Albany

Alcorn State

Abilene Christian

Appalachian State

Akron

Army

Austin Peay

Arkansas-Pine Bluff

Arkansas-Little Rock

Arkansas State

Air Force

Ball State

American

Wofford

Winthrop

Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Wisconsin-Green Bay

Wichita State

Western Carolina

Volleyball

Gymnastics

Men's Lacrosse

Women's Lacrosse

Men's Soccer

Women's Soccer

Women's Track

Men's Golf

Women's Golf

Men's Hockey

Women's Hockey

Men's Swimming

Women's Swimming

Wrestling

Men's Tennis

Women's Tennis

Annual $1

Annual Premium

Annual $1 

Monthly

Annual

Unlimited Access to This and All Articles.

Article (On3 Plus Rivals)

Forum (On3 Plus Rivals)

Intro

Join

College scoop, experts, and community - all in one.

Winback

Stories that will shape 2026

Looking ahead

Miami trending for QB, WR

Transfer Portal Intel

Top CFB players for 2026

Way Too Early Top 100

Enters the transfer portal

Cooper Barkate

Sounds off on CBB eligibility

Mark Pope