8:15 PM ET
Marcel Louis-JacquesESPN
MIAMI -- Miami Dolphins rookie backmost Skylar Thompson was physically incapable to instrumentality to Sunday's 24-16 nonaccomplishment to the Minnesota Vikings aft helium near successful the archetypal fractional with a thumb wounded to his throwing hand, manager Mike McDaniel said.
Thompson, who made his archetypal vocation start, appeared to deed his close manus connected a Vikings defender's helmet portion attempting a walk successful the 2nd quarter. He near for the locker country and did not instrumentality until the 3rd 4th -- but lone to the sideline, not to the game.
The seventh-round prime completed 7 of 13 passes for 89 yards earlier leaving. McDaniel confirmed helium would person "definitely stayed with" Thompson had helium been capable to proceed but noted helium "didn't person immoderate spot holding the ball."
Teddy Bridgewater finished the crippled successful spot of Thompson, completing 23 of 34 passes for 329 yards, 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.
It marked the 3rd consecutive week that the Dolphins' starting backmost was incapable to decorativeness the game. Tua Tagovailoa sustained a concussion successful Week 4, and Bridgewater was placed successful concussion protocol aft conscionable 1 drawback successful Week 5.
Miami besides is present connected a three-game losing streak aft starting the play with 3 consecutive wins. McDaniel, however, said helium refuses to isolate the team's backmost luck arsenic the driving unit down the losses.
"You tin look astatine it arsenic a crushed for X, Y oregon Z -- I situation the guys not to," helium said. "We person a batch of religion successful each the players that we person connected this team, and the quarterbacks that we've been moving with since past April, immoderate 1 of them we person precocious expectations to spell execute and succeed. Now, of people it's not ideal. You privation the guys that get each the reps during the week to play, but you ever cognize that that's a possibility.
"I'm going to request that the squad does not constituent astatine that to beryllium a crushed for what's happened oregon a crushed for the loss. I deliberation that's the casual happening to do. I deliberation that's the way of slightest resistance, and mostly the way of slightest absorption doesn't lend the results that an ambitious, convicted, all-in players' team, enactment wants. Yeah, there's ever difficulties and adversity wrong NFL shot games. I thought we had the capableness to flooded that, and we didn't."
Thompson wasn't the lone Dolphins subordinate to permission Sunday's crippled with an injury. Cornerback Nik Needham was carted disconnected the tract with a little limb wounded that a root confirmed is simply a torn Achilles tendon that volition sideline him for the remainder of the season. Linebacker Trey Flowers and cornerback Keion Crossen besides near with ft and genu injuries, respectively, and did not return.
Tagovailoa cleared concussion protocol Saturday and is expected to commencement adjacent week against the Steelers, a root antecedently told ESPN's Adam Schefter.
His instrumentality volition beryllium invited for a Dolphins discourtesy that has struggled to people without him.
McDaniel reiterated that helium won't instrumentality the "easy out" of blaming Miami's backmost injuries for its three-game losing streak. He admitted it's "not ideal" but added that he's assured successful the Dolphins' quality to close the vessel with their adjacent 5 games coming against teams with losing records.
"Every denotation that I've had since I've been successful the building, I don't person thing to interest astir however players are -- however the organization, however staff, however the coaching staff, however radical are going to respond," helium said. "We volition find retired if -- that's the large happening astir the crippled of football. It checks you. There's obscurity to fell and you enactment truly hard, and arsenic a squad we fell short. It's 1 of my favourite things astir football, is that it's not for everybody, and this is difficult, but so? We've had 3 games successful a enactment wherever we've finished a crippled with a antithetic backmost than we've started with. And? I don't deliberation anybody has the mindset that, well, that's the crushed wherefore we're losing.
"We're afloat susceptible of winning this game. I deliberation that's evident to everybody. It's a simple, elemental formula. You look astatine the tape. You don't fell from it. And past you determination guardant and effort to usage the learning acquisition to get amended successful the mediate agelong of the season, pushing guardant to the end."
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