“Dolphins’ Coach Mike McDaniel Explains Controversial Decision to Keep Starters in Blowout Loss: Was It Worth the Risk?”

Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel explains the decision to start the starters late in Sunday’s loss The Dolphins lost Bradley Chubb to a torn ACL late Sunday night. Miami Dolphins vs. Baltimore Ravens Photos: Rob Carr/Getty Images Baltimore Ravens running back Melvin Gordan’s seven-yard touchdown run with four minutes left should have spelled the end of Sunday’s loss to the Miami Dolphins. Instead, quarterback Mike White fumbled the football on the first play of the next possession, forcing Vic Fangio’s unit back onto the field — hoping to avoid 50 hamburgers in Baltimore. Gordan had a four-yard loss on the second play of the drive, and Dolphins linebacker Bradley Chubb tore his ACL on the play. After the game, second-year coach Mike McDaniel was asked to explain the decision to let the starters play late in the swing. “It doesn’t seem smart at all,” McDaniel said. “The thinking behind it is the same as last year against this team, where I think we were down 35-14 early in the fourth quarter. When you’re as close to a team as we are and you know the players inside and out, in football games are times when it’s not about winning or losing or [if we can] go back. “It’s about finishing the game of football and giving us what we expected.” Miami scored on the game’s opening drive, but Lamar Jackson and Baltimore’s offense held Fangio’s defense to 21 points in the second and fourth quarters in a 56-19 loss. “Our expectations were very low,” McDaniel said. “Hats off to the Crows for taking it for us. The boys were very disappointed. I think my role on game day is; You know, the players wanted to come back and play and finish the next week on the right track. I have the ability to say no to them in this whole situation. There are many decisions that I have cross-examined. It’s hard not to. I do this every week. It just comes down to how much I respect that point of view and the decisions made. “Intention is always important and I called that the guys who were there wanted to be there. It’s one of those things that will forever be part of the job, that as a competitor you realize that the results are always what you have to be responsible for, as they should be.