The Miami Dolphins have likely lost much more than just the game on Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens. With just over three minutes left in the game and Baltimore leading 49-19, Miami linebacker Bradley Chubb went down with a knee injury and was carted off the field.
“One of my least favorite things in the sport, and for my role is seeing a competitor go down and then have to get a cart,” McDaniel said. “That’s always pretty emotional.”
While the severity of the injury is still unclear, this is an inexcusable situation for McDaniel and his team. Fearing the worst, the Dolphins will now have lost both linebackers Chubb and Jaelen Phillips in garbage-time situations.
“In hindsight, I would absolutely not have wanted him out there if I would’ve known that he was going to get hurt,” continued McDaniel. “It doesn’t look very smart at all. The thinking behind it is the same as it kind of was last year against (the Ravens) in (Baltimore). I think we were down 35-14 at the beginning of the fourth quarter.”
McDaniel is citing the Week 2 game at Baltimore a season ago where the Dolphins were indeed down 35-14 entering the fourth quarter and came back to win 42-38.
“The players wanted to go back in and play and finish the right way heading into next week,” McDaniel concluded. “I have the ability to tell them ‘no’ on everything in this situation. There’s plenty of decisions that I’ll cross-examine, it’s hard not to. As a competitor, you understand that the results will always be what you have to be held accountable for.”
The Dolphins head into the final week of the regular season against the Buffalo Bills in a game that’ll determine the AFC East division crown, and it looks like they’ll have to try and defeat quarterback Josh Allen and the stout Buffalo offense without one of their best players on defense.
