The Miami Dolphins were playing out the final minutes of a particularly distasteful defeat Sunday when things went from bad to worse.
The first-string defense had already been humbled and beaten by the Baltimore Ravens when star linebacker Bradley Chubb dropped to the ground, flat on his back and unable to move because of a knee injury. A while later, the team’s sack leader was lifted onto a cart and driven into the tunnel.
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel lamented his decision to keep Chubb on the field in the waning minutes of what became a 56-19 loss.
“In hindsight, I would have absolutely not wanted him out there if I knew he was going to get hurt, for sure,” McDaniel said. “That’s a known part of the job that I understand fully. It doesn’t look very smart at all.”
While it appears unlikely that the sixth-year pro will return to play this season, McDaniel grimaced and held out hope for a favorable diagnosis.
The first-string defense had already been humbled and beaten by the Baltimore Ravens when star linebacker Bradley Chubb dropped to the ground, flat on his back and unable to move because of a knee injury. A while later, the team’s sack leader was lifted onto a cart and driven into the tunnel.
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel lamented his decision to keep Chubb on the field in the waning minutes of what became a 56-19 loss.
“In hindsight, I would have absolutely not wanted him out there if I knew he was going to get hurt, for sure,” McDaniel said. “That’s a known part of the job that I understand fully. It doesn’t look very smart at all.”
While it appears unlikely that the sixth-year pro will return to play this season, McDaniel grimaced and held out hope for a favorable diagnosis.
“We don’t have the information to find out what it is yet. We’ll be able to find out (Monday),” McDaniel said.
All in all, it was a horrible day for a team intent on upsetting the Ravens and earning the top seed in the AFC.
“We came into this game with high hopes of playing to the standard we wanted to play,” quarterback Tua Tagovailoa said. “When those standards aren’t met, it’s very disappointing.”
The Dolphins fell behind by 22 points early in the third quarter, and a harried Tagovailoa couldn’t make up the deficit in a lopsided setback that prevented Miami (11-5) from clinching the AFC East.
