Dolphins-Packers 2024 Week 13 Five Biggest Storylines ... And How They Played Out

The Miami Dolphins dropped a 30-17 decision against the Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs (8) is tackled by Miami Dolphins linebacker Emmanuel Ogbah (91) during their football game Thursday, November 28, 2024, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. / Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Miami Dolphins saw their record drop to 5-7 on the season when the lost, 30-17, against the Green Bay Packers on Thanksgiving night.

This was the fourth consecutive loss in the series for the Dolphins, who haven't defeated the Packers since the 2010 season.

Ahead of this year's Week 13 matchup, we broke down the five biggest storylines, so it's time to revisit them to see how they played out.

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1) THE DOLPHINS AND THE COLD

Before the game: Stop us if you've heard this one before, but the Dolphins haven't had a lot of success in cold-weather games in recent years. While the conditions in this one won't be anywhere near as brutal as those in Kansas City in January, it won't exactly be South Florida weather either. The Dolphins will need to show at some point that conditions don't matter to the way they operate on offense and defense and this would be a good place to start.

During the game: Yeah, it's probably not good to have one of the team's defensive starters, in this case Jordyn Brooks, say, "We let the elements control the way that we played." Head coach Mike McDaniel said that was related to all the missed tackles on defense, but regardless this is bad. The loss was one thing, but the fact the Dolphins were down 27-3 before making the final score more respectable really is a bad look for a team trying to shed a reputation.

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LB Jordyn Brooks said he thought weather was a factor and the Dolphins played soft pic.twitter.com/aiejXzt5tv

— Chris Perkins (@chrisperk) November 29, 2024

2) CAN TUA KEEP ROLLING?

Before the game: Of course, at the forefront of the weather factor will be quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, even though we've already addressed this narrative based solely on his record being a bit overblown. More importantly here is whether Tagovailoa can continue the ridiculously high level of efficiency he's shown since coming back against a Packers defense infinitely better than what the Dolphins saw against the Raiders and Patriots.

During the game: If you didn't see the game and only looked at the final stats, you'd think Tagovailoa had yet another great performance. But, as they say, stats can lie. And they most definitely did in this game. The reality of the game is the Dolphins lost because they dug themselves a 24-3 hole at halftime. And in that first half, Tagovailoa had 118 passing yards with a passer rating under 90. And then there's the fact the Dolphins didn't have a single offensive play longer than 16 yards until the fourth quarter. So, no, Tua didn't keep it rolling despite the 365 passing yards and the 114 passer rating.

3) FINDING LOVE

Before the game: This game will feature an interesting quarterback battle between 2020 first-round picks Tagovailoa and Jordan Love. The latter has had a bit of an up-and-down season, starting with a scary-looking ankle injury in the opener in Brazil. The biggest issue for Love this season has been turnovers, and the Dolphins would make their task of winning a lot easier if they can pick him off once or twice, and a couple of sacks wouldn't hurt either.

During the game: This was a complete failure from A to Z for the Dolphins defense, which didn't sack Love once, rarely had any pressure on him and didn't have a takeaway. Love ended up with 274 yards and a 129 passer rating. Not a recipe for success for the Dolphins defense.

4) JOUSTING WITH JACOBS

Before the game: A big key to the Green Bay is the running game, which is led by free agent acquisition Josh Jacobs. The Dolphins had a lot of success stuffing Jacobs last year at Hard Rock Stadium, but he was running then behind the Raiders offensive line and his quarterback was Aidan O'Connell, who the Dolphins didn't have to worry about nearly as much as they do Jordan Love. Keeping Jacobs in check, at least to a certain degree, is a big key in this game.

During the game: The defense had much better success against the run, holding Green Bay running backs under 4 yards per carry. That include a really good effort against Jacobs, who finished with 43 yards on 19 attempts for a 2.3 average, including Benito Jones' stuff for a 2-yard loss on third-and-1 in the third quarter when the Dolphins still had a chance. Where Jacobs hurt the Dolphins was in the passing game, particularly the 49-yard reception with great open-field running that set up the field goal that made it 30-11 and basically sealed the outcome.

5) NO SPECIAL TEAMS BREAKDOWNS

Before the game: We hate to keep harping on the special teams, but that's just life, especially if we go back to that 2022 meeting at Hard Rock Stadium and remember that Keisean Nixon had a 93-yard kickoff return for Green Bay. He didn't score on the return and the Dolphins held Green Bay to a field goal, but the point remains. And it won't be as simple as having Jason Sanders kicking off deep into the end zone to prevent a long return because the ball simply doesn't travel as well in the cold — and, again, it will be cold.

During the game: Yeah, it didn't take very long for this phase of the game to bite the Dolphins. It started with giving up a 43-yard return to Nixon on the opening kickoff, though the damage was mitigated by the defense pitching a three-and-out. But then came the muffed punt by rookie Malik Washington, who made the mistake of trying to field a punt that was giving him problems because of the wind and falling snow. That play was a major tone-setter of the negative nature for a Dolphins team that really wasn't equipped to handle that kind of adversity.