“Those guys looked cold out there.”

The Dolphins’ defense struggled greatly with tackles in the elements, but coach Mike McDaniel insisted the 20 missed tackles were due to poor technique rather than inclement weather. The temperature was around 20°C in Lambeau on Thursday evening.

“We’re definitely not going to use that as an excuse,” defensive lineman Calais Campbell said, according to the Associated Press. “I know of course, with the stories from previous years or whatever, I understand it. But today it wasn’t so bad.”

It certainly wasn’t as bad as last year’s Dolphins loss at Kansas City in the postseason. But Green Bay players said they noticed the difference with the South club.

“The guys looked cold out there,” Packers running back Josh Jacobs said, via NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe.

More security

Things got off to a bad start for Miami, with a botched punt leading to the game’s first touchdown. Miami committed 10 penalties in a sloppy game for the road club. However, McDaniel refused to blame the cold.

“We didn’t fail to get the ball before a delay in game or a false start due to the cold,” he said. “I think the video will show that when we watch it. But like everything else, if you want to achieve anything in this league, you have to overcome it at some point.”

The loss dropped the Dolphins to 5-7 on the season after returning to the playoffs on a three-game winning streak. The loss puts them two games behind Denver and the No. 7 seed in the AFC race. Since 2014, two teams have received a wild card after starting 5-7 or worse (2021 Philadelphia, 2020 Chicago).