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MIAMI GARDENS — Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill had just 33 snaps in Monday night’s 28-27 loss to the Tennessee Titans after suffering an ankle injury in the first quarter.
Hill was caught in the backfield after catching a pass from quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and was quickly turned around in pain before leaving the field. He first walked onto the field from the Titans’ sideline to the Dolphins’ but ran the last 20 or so yards after hearing “MVP” chants from the crowd.
The NFL’s leader in receiving yards didn’t play again except for the Dolphins’ second drive in the third quarter, prompted in part by a text from his wife.
“When it happened, like my first reaction was like, man, I’m missing my ankle,” he said. “My adrenaline kicked in, I ran off the field, then I sat down for a while and was stiff and in a lot of pain, then I did it to my think, I came in half way, I texted mine. wife, I was like, ‘This— hurts.’ I need an ankle sprain tonight, and he’s like, ‘You better get your ass back in that game, dawg.’ I was like, ‘Okay.’
“So I decided in my mind that it would hurt, that it wouldn’t work, tonight and tomorrow morning, I went back to the game alone, without anyone to say, ‘Reek, go. It’s like, no, f—now, I’ve got to go out there and bring some energy and be a spark.”
Miami outgained the Titans 403 yards to 366 and largely struggled without Hill in the game. Miami played without starting players Terron Armstead, Robert Hunt and Isaiah Wynn, who were inactive, and center Connor Williams, who left the game with a knee injury in the quarter. first and never came back.
After the game, Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said he had not spoken to the coaching staff about Williams, who was seen wearing the armband. the knees while standing on the sidelines of the game.
“I know it’s going to take a long time to stop him,” McDaniel said. “Maybe it’s not the best thing.”
Although the Dolphins averaged 5.1 yards per carry, rushing for 158 yards on 31 attempts, they were very poor throwing the ball.
Against Miami’s offensive line, the Titans attacked, forcing Tagovailoa into 39% of his drops on Monday night. Tagovailoa was just 4 of 11 passing for 27 yards after being pressed and had five sacks.
He finished with 240 passing yards, completed 23 of 33 passes and went on a 21-game streak with a touchdown. .
“I think what they want in the game is to put a shell on our team, to force us to run the ball, and encouraged us to beat them that way,” said Tagovailoa. “But when someone like Tyreek goes down, it’s difficult, but when you have key O-line guys go down, it affects the guys up front and the way we play. .
“I think one of the most difficult aspects is that a lot of guys didn’t get reps in some situations, not that we’ve practiced for situations like this to happen, but they did.” It just happened that Connor went down and we already had two of our guys out but needless to say, I know the guys up front are going to be better. We’ll have to watch the tape, it was tough tonight, but it’s going to stick if we don’t do something about it.”
Despite playing a small part, Hill finished with 61 yards on four passes. Jaylen Waddle led the team in receiving yards with 79 on six catches.
“So I decided in my mind that it would hurt, that it wouldn’t work, tonight and tomorrow morning, I went back to the game alone, without anyone to say, ‘Reek, go. It’s like, no, f—now, I’ve got to go out there and bring some energy and be a spark.”
Tyreek Hill on return to MNF game after ankle injury
Miami clearly found its rhythm without Mountain, but McDaniel blamed the loss on the lack of a red zone — two touchdowns in five red zone trips — several times. Hill’s injury.
“(Hill) has a lot of offense. However… ‘Ced’ (Cedrick Wilson Jr.) made a couple of plays,” he said. “That’s not why we didn’t have a first half — or first three quarters — points. Third downs, and our defense wasn’t what we’re used to. in a game or two.
“Obviously a player like Tyreek, it hurts when he’s not in there. However, I think there is a lot of offense that needs to be there and we have a lot of guys that I believe do that. I think the bottom line is, There are things like this that happen in a game, you lose and those lessons are usually learned one way, and that’s the hard part. that.”
At 9-4, the Dolphins still hold a two-game lead in the AFC East over their division rival Buffalo Bills, and host the New York Jets next week. With a win and a loss against the Dallas Cowboys, Miami will set itself up for a playoff spot in Week 16.
There is no guarantee Hill will play against the Jets next week – unless he is given the nod.
“That’s not something I’m going to think about,” he said. “But if the coaches come to me, if they see something in the studies whenever I get these tests, they say, ‘Hey, Reek, you can sit out,’ I I do. But I’m me, I don’t want to. I stay out. I want to be able to help this team in any way I can, and that’s me. I don’t want to. to miss every game.”