CLEVELAND (AP) — Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel spoke from the heart, yet appeared to be out of answers.
Questions about his job status, however, were plentiful.
The Dolphins threw three interceptions, fumbled six times, committed three personal fouls and were soundly outplayed in all phases of a 31-6 loss to the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.
“A game like this, I think we didn’t see it coming,” McDaniel said. “We’re professionals who need to do our job better. You can’t even go on to beating your opponent if you beat yourselves.
“When it happens, you absolutely, with 100% certainty, have to evaluate everything. No person or no player or no coach has their hands clean — starting with me.”
Both teams entered the matchup with a 1-5 record, but looked nothing alike. The Browns played turnover-free football, while Miami gave it away four times and allowed its emotions to boil over at inopportune times.
All of the Dolphins’ points came on field goals by Riley Patterson, marking the third time in McDaniel’s four years they failed to score a touchdown. They are 29-29 during his tenure and well on their way to missing the playoffs for the second straight season.
“You do hard truths in this league and you are always ultimately held accountable for your performance,” McDaniel admitted. “But I find it very offensive to all parties involved if I’m thinking about having a job. As long as I’m the coach of the Miami Dolphins, they will get everything from me.”
Miami has dropped three straight since its lone victory of the season, a 27-21 triumph over the winless New York Jets in Week 4. Its struggles have coincided with the inconsistent play of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
One week after criticizing his teammates following a 29-27 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, Tagovailoa tied his career highs by fumbling three times and being picked off three more times by the Browns.
His most costly interception occurred on the opening snap of the third quarter, when Tyson Campbell returned the pick 34 yards for a touchdown to extend Cleveland’s lead to 24-6.
“At least one or two of the interceptions were extremely preventable from Tua, and he knows that just wasn’t good enough,” McDaniel said. “We’ll watch the tape and change our style of play if we need to.
“Everything is on the table when you go into a game that you fully know you have the capability to win, but get handed a very, very humbling loss.”
Tagovailoa accepted full blame for the defeat, as well as his subpar performance through seven games. His ratio of 11 touchdowns to 10 interceptions is the worst in his six NFL seasons and a far cry from his Pro Bowl campaign two years ago.
“I’m definitely not happy, not proud of where I’m at with my plan and how I’ve gone about my things this year,” Tagovailoa said, alluding to his postgame comments against the Chargers. “I’ve got to get back to what I was doing the last couple of years.”
Dolphins linebacker Bradley Chubb expressed confidence that a turnaround is still possible, starting with their next game at the Atlanta Falcons, while echoing McDaniel and his quarterback that the problems can only be solved within their locker room.
At the same time, all of them stressed that Miami no longer has any room for error.
“Every time we had the Browns dead to rights today, we bailed them out, so we’ve got to be more disciplined,” Chubb said. “It’s going to be hard to get past this, but things have got to change around quick. And they will.”