The Miami Dolphins knew their three-game road trip to start December could involve plenty of pitfalls, but the three-game skid still stings.
Miami lost in San Francisco, L.A., and Buffalo to drop from 8-3 to 8-6, clinging to the No. 7 seed in the AFC.
"We know exactly what we ended up doing in those three games. That definitely wasn't the desired outcome," Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel said Monday, via the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. "We knew exactly what the trip was going to be like. We knew what those three games against good opponents -- we knew it was a challenge, and we were kind of excited for that challenge."
The Dolphins now head home for a Christmas date with Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers.
"We love our home venue, but it's not exactly like, 'Oh, finally. We're home,' " McDaniel said. "It's more that we needed another opportunity to play football. It's a bad taste that you want to try to get rid of."
During the three-game losing streak, Tua Tagovailoa completed fewer than 60 percent of his passes in each outing, something he did just once in his first nine games played this season (Week 4 at Cincinnati; left with injury).
The losing streak marked the second time this season that McDaniel's club has had a three-game skid (Weeks 4-6). They bounced back from the first swoon to win five straight.
McDaniel believes Miami can use the experience of the road losses to buffer a playoff push down the stretch.
"We allowed ourselves to utilize every experience because of our intent and our commitment moving forward," he said. "If we choose to do it and if we execute everything that we haven't and utilize those experiences, we'll look back and say those were very beneficial."
The Dolphins close the season at home against the Packers, at New England, and at home versus the Jets with all teams battling for a playoff spot.
