(This article was written before the news broke that Tua is in the concussion protocol)

Ever since the 2nd half of their matchup versus the Houston Texans in late November, the Miami Dolphins have been having issues.

And it’s not just due to injuries on the field.

This goes deeper than that.

Ever since the month of the December has started, the Dolphins have been on a losing streak, which continued on Christmas Day when they were back at home to play the Green Bay Packers.

Playcalling, situational football, and starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s performance have all been reoccurring themes throughout this 4-game losing streak.

Head coach Mike McDaniel, who was once known for his genius during the first half of the year, has looked foolish going down-slinging versus the Chargers and calling plays behind the line of scrimmage on 3rd downs versus the Bills up in Buffalo.

The Chargers were known for their porous run defense, yet McDaniel wanted to continuously throw regardless, despite receivers being locked up in coverage and Tua being 3 for 17 at one point.

In Buffalo, during the 2nd half and on their final two drives, there were at least two plays McDaniel called on 3rd down that were behind the line of scrimmage and went nowhere that killed the Dolphins’ drives in a close game with the Bills.

One of those plays was on a 3rd & 1 dump-off to fullback Alec Ingold that led to a loss of 2 yards. That drive ended in a Field Goal to put the Fins up by 8 points, but it killed a drive that started at the Buffalo 47-yard line after Fins defensive end Jaelan Phillips strip-sacked Bills QB Josh Allen. The drive lasted only five plays and went 18 yards.

The other was on the Fins’ final possession of the game —trying to answer the Bills tying score. The Fins got inside Buffalo quickly (thanks to some great throws by Tua) but fizzled out once the Dolphins neared the Buffalo 40. That was because, on 2nd & 9, McDaniel refused to run the ball (which was working to great effect for most of the game & would’ve made for a more manageable upcoming 3rd down). Instead, McDaniel called a WR bubble screen to Tyreek Hill, who already had a defender pressed up against him presnap, and said the defender was poorly blocked by a Trent Sherfield once the ball was snapped.

That play was for a loss of 3 yards, led to a 3rd & 12, and killed the drive. Buffalo chewed up the clock on their final possession and went down the field for the game-winning kick.

Tua’s problems, on the other hand, are baffling. They are downright uncharacteristic of his usual play, and his 2nd-half interceptions/performance are the other half of the problem during this losing streak.

Tua was off-target to wide-open receivers during the 49ers game. He also threw two interceptions (1 of which wasn’t his fault due to a receiver slipping down on a route, but the other — on the move, short and behind to an open Tyreek Hill— was). Both those interceptions were on consecutive back-to-back drives and allowed the 49ers to increase their lead from 17-10 to 23-10. (Tua also had a poor statistical performance versus the Chargers, but I’m going to chalk that game up to coaching & playcalling)

Tua brought this turnover bug into the Christmas Day game versus the Packers — a matchup many thought was where the Fins could get back on track.

And it looked like it.

The Dolphins scored on 4 of their seven possessions in the first half and had the lead going into the 2nd half — up 20-13.

But nothing went right after that.

Every possession the Miami Dolphins offense had in the 2nd half to answer the Packers led from bad to worse…

The Dolphins missed a field goal to answer the Packers’ tying score, which made the game 20-20.

After Fins cornerback Kader Kohou ruined an Aaron Rodgers promising drive with an interception in the endzone for a touchback… Tua threw an interception one play later. Trying to target a Jaylen Waddle, but the pass sailed high.

(Mike’s Thoughts: Fine. The pass sailed high. It got away from him. Whatever. At worst, a 1-score game.)

The defense holds the Packers to a field goal at the Miami 10. 23-20 Packers.

To answer, Tua leads the Fins on a promising drive; he gets into FG territory, nearing the red zone…

BOOM… another INT.

This one was bad. Tua tried to fit the ball into a short seem to running back Raheem Mostert but didn’t see the middle linebacker coming across. Up to this point, this may have been the ugliest interception I have seen Tua throw this season.

(Mike’s thoughts: Hopefully, the defense can hold them to another FG and not make it a 10-point lead. Packers have a long way to go to the endzone, so it’s possible)

Aaron Rodgers leads a drive that gets down inside the Miami 15. And with under 3 minutes left to go in the 4th QTR, the Packers give the Dolphins the greatest gift they could at this time of the game….

They don’t let Aaron Rodgers throw on 3rd & 5 from the 10-yard line. And the Packers kick another FG, take a 6-point lead, with 2 minutes left to play. 26-20 Packers.

(Mike Thoughts: okay, Tua. Time for that franchise-QB game-winning 2-minute drive to make it all up to Dolphins Nation and give us all that magical Christmas Day miracle win to take back with us to our homes & hearts.)

Two plays later, the drive barely gets started, and Tua throws another interception.

This one is the ugliest of all — trying to target TE Mike Gesicki on the right sideline.

It wasn’t even close. The throw was short and WAY too low when having to throw over a defender. Gesicki was covered underneath and over the top, and that decision & pass was horrendous. Especially when one considers that Hill was open on a slant, and Mostert was open coming out of the backfield.

Game over. Packers win.

(Mike is on a Clark Griswold mental breakdown. Hatcheting down a palm tree.)

Three drives, three consecutive interceptions, each one uglier than that last — all by Tua Tagovailoa, who is known for his decision-making, reading the field at lightning speed, and who entered this game with only five interceptions on the entire season.

Demoralizing. Shocking. Dumbfounding.

Can we even consider the Miami Dolphins for real anymore?

Are they even worthy of being a playoff team?

Do they have the right coach?

Do they have the right quarterback?

Or are they just the 2022 version of the Kliff Kingsbury & Kyler Murray Cardinals— who play well for the first half of the season but eventually get figured out and crumble?

A good team usually fixes two losses in a row.

Three losses in a row that’s a red flag.

But a team on a 4-game losing streak with coaching & quarterback problems?

That tells people that you are phony. You aren’t for real. You are fraudulent.

But the Miami Dolphins have two more games to go against division rivals — Patriots & Jets.

We’ll soon find out who they are. But right now, confidence is shot.