Marcel Louis-JacquesOct 6, 2025, 07:38 AM

Marcel Louis-Jacques joined ESPN in 2019 as a beat reporter covering the Buffalo Bills, before switching to the Miami Dolphins in 2021. The former Carolina Panthers beat writer for the Charlotte Observer won the APSE award for breaking news and the South Carolina Press Association award for enterprise writing in 2018.

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Following a 27-24 loss to the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa said the feeling of being 1-4 "sucks" and "we've got to figure this out now."

The Dolphins scored on their opening three drives to take a 17-0 lead, but mustered just 38 total yards on their ensuring five offensive drives as Carolina finished the game on a 27-7 run.

Tagovailoa threw for 256 yards and three touchdowns, completing 27 of 36 passes, but the Dolphins rushed for just 19 yards -- their lowest total since coach Mike McDaniel was hired in 2022.

"It's tough. No one wants to start the season 1-4," Tagovailoa said. "It's not like our team goes out there and we want to give up this or want to not convert our third downs in the second half. There's just so many things that go into it -- and we've got to figure this out. We've got to figure this out now. This feeling sucks. It's not a good feeling."

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Sunday marked the first time the Dolphins had lost a game under McDaniel when leading by at least 17 points; they were 10-0 in such games entering Week 5.

It was also just the third time a McDaniel-led team lost a game in which it was at least +2 in turnover differential.

The fourth-year coach cited "preparation and how we execute" as reasons for the loss, which he said he views as his responsibility. McDaniel also called the loss "unacceptable" for a team that had shown signs of improvement over the past two weeks.

"When you win the plus-minus and you have a three-score lead, you have to lean on an opponent on both sides of the ball, on the line of scrimmage, and we were incapable," McDaniel said. "So I'm going to get back to the drawing board and fix that immediately.

"I thought we had a good plan, thought we got some stuff fixed. We've known the issues we've had and we thought that we were prepared for this and clearly we weren't."

Miami scored on a 42-yard field goal on its opening drive, then forced Bryce Young turnovers on each of the Panthers' first two drives. Young finished with 198 passing yards and two touchdowns, but Carolina's run game fueled its comeback.

The Dolphins allowed 239 rushing yards Sunday -- their most since 2022 and second-most under McDaniel. Rico Dowdle, starting in place of injured starter Chuba Hubbard, rushed for a career-high 206 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries.

Dolphins linebacker Bradley Chubb called the game "bizarre" and felt the Dolphins got complacent holding a 17-0 lead.

"We've got to be better of the defensive side of the ball. I don't want to speak for everybody, but in a sense, it felt like we got comfortable," he said. "That's not winning football, that's not winning defense. At the end of the day, we've got to all look in the mirror and see who all's going to be here for each other, who's going to be accountable for their actions.

"It's not just going through the motions -- it's making a change. We sit up here every week talking about we need to stop the run ... We need to emphasize it more."

McDaniel said he was concerned about Miami taking its foot off the gas after opening its first three-score lead of the season. Although he didn't notice a drop-off in real time, he noted the game film would tell the full story.

"I was monitoring that live, making sure that guys didn't lose their edge and I didn't feel like (they did)," McDaniel said. "I thought we were one drive away and we had some good answers offensively, and then ultimately we didn't. That just happened in succession and I was worried about guys, from a focus standpoint, kind of packing it in, but I didn't feel that."

The Dolphins' 1-4 start is their worst since 2021. Only eight of the 390 teams to start a season 1-4 since the Super Bowl era have rebounded to make the playoffs, including Miami in 2016.

The Dolphins host the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 6. McDaniel said the team will "immediately" get to work to right the ship, starting on the plane ride home from Charlotte.

"It just can't continue to go on like this and it's already gone too long," he said. "So we'll get back to the drawing board and in the National Football League, no one cares about your feelings. When you lose a game like this, you better come together and from the foundation out, you need to build on our standard. Things that we believe in, that we know that our players are good at and everyone needs to be accountable and attack and not wallow.

"My expectation is no one will (wallow)."

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