Tyreek Hill misses his quarterback and a functional offense.
The star Dolphins receiver had a meltdown on the sideline during the fourth quarter of a 31-12 home loss to the Titans on Monday night in a second straight putrid showing by the offense.
Cameras captured Hill talking passionately on the sideline behind coach Mike McDaniel late in the fourth quarter with the Dolphins (1-3) trailing by 16 points to the previously winless Titans.
Hill tallied four catches for 23 yards on seven targets Monday and has just seven catches for 63 yards and zero touchdowns over the last two games since the Dolphins lost Tua Tagovailoa to injured reserve following a scary concussion.
“I would expect him to be visibly upset at somebody,” McDaniel said after his team dropped its third straight game. “A lot of times guys can be yelling at – he’s a leader and he wanted to do everything that he could to make sure the result wasn’t that. Within the locker room, there’s a lot of guys challenging each other and we get an opportunity to see what we’re made of for sure.”
The Dolphins’ offense is one of the best in the NFL when it has Tagovailoa under center but the last two weeks with Skylar Thompson and Tyler Huntley running the show have not been pretty.
Thompson struggled in Week 3 and the Dolphins went to Huntley, a former Pro Bowler with the Ravens, for the “Monday Night Football” game in Week 4.
Huntley could not galvanize the offense, which left Hill, fellow receiver Jaylen Waddle and running back De’Von Achane rather helpless.
That lack of involvement — and surely the team’s struggles — likely factored into his eruption Monday with less than six minutes remaining in the contest and the Titans ahead, 22-6.
It’s unclear who Hill was talking to — if anyone — while patrolling the sidelines.
Hill had one 17-yard catch Monday, but his other three went for just six yards.
He’s one of the league’s premier deep threats when he has a quality quarterback under center, but the Dolphins have not found a way to involve him better with subpar quarterback play.
McDaniel said it’s on all the involved parties to figure out how to make this offense work while they await Tagovailoa’s potential return, which can’t come until Week 8 at the earliest.
The Dolphins will try to end their offensive woes in Week 5 on the road against the equally offensively inept Patriots in a battle of 1-3 teams.
“There’s a story in the tape and all the things that we’re trying to do,” McDaniel said. “They didn’t really do anything that surprised us. We felt like we could get those guys the ball in premium situations. We weren’t able to. So, I don’t think – that’s not up to my standard at all. I know for a fact that I play a part in the whole thing, but it’s a collective issue for sure and we have to figure out how to score points and those guys can help us do that for sure.
