Tyreek Hill blames decline on lack of reps with Tua Tagovailoa

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill caught three passes that ultimately fell incomplete during Sunday’s 29-17 win over the San Francisco 49ers, two of which would have resulted in touchdowns.

When asked about them after the game, Hill attributed his drops to a lack of practice reps with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.

“I feel like at the end of the day I need those valuable reps with Tua,” Hill said. “These vet rest days are starting to show. I totally blame myself for not getting my head around and not seeing the ball, because if I see a ball, we’re talking across the field, 70-yard touchdown. But those Wednesday reps As a manager, I have to just be able to bite the bullet and practice and get those valuable reps with QB1, because if we’re able to stay on the field, who knows what could happen.”

Hill dropped a pass on third down during the Dolphins’ opening drive. Later in the quarter, he dropped another third-down pass, this time in the end zone — even though 49ers cornerback Deommodore Lenoir tipped the ball a little at the last second.

Tagovailoa targeted Hill again on an end zone route on third down late in the third quarter, but the pass was dropped. The Dolphins settled for field goals on both Hills end zone drops.

Hill was listed as questionable for Sunday’s game because of a wrist injury he has battled all season. He missed Wednesday practice in two of the past four weeks and has been listed as limited or worse in at least one practice each week since Week 7. Before Sunday’s game, Hill missed practice Wednesday, practiced full Thursday and was a limited practice. participates on Friday.

Hill doubled down on his lack of practice reps as the reason for his struggles Sunday, heeding a lesson he learned while playing under Chiefs coach Andy Reid.

“On the deep ball, it got tipped by the defensive back, and on the other one, it’s just again missing those valuable reps with the quarterback,” Hill said. “One thing I learned from Coach Reid every time I was in Kansas City, I was blessed to be able to play under such a great head coach, is that you can’t just show up on Sunday. You have to be able to prepare yourself on wednesday, thursday, even saturday, it’s easy.

“Again, we miss those valuable reps because when it’s live speed, everything moves so fast. We need those valuable reps when it’s Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.”

With 29 yards and a touchdown Sunday, the NFL’s leading receiver over the past two seasons is on pace for just 945 receiving yards this season — the lowest total of his career as a full-time starter.

Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said developing a player’s practice workload is an “imperfect formula,” but ultimately if Hill wants more practice reps, he’ll get them.

“You try to give the best performance on game day, and the good news is when a player on Sunday can feel the rest in a negative way, you adjust,” McDaniel said. “When it hits a player and they feel it has accumulated, then you adjust your plans because the idea above all is to execute and feel judged and confident on game day. There are always pros and cons to any kind of rest .Shoot, I want every player to play 100 percent of practice snaps at full tilt every week body.

“I think the adjustment to getting more reps with Tua, it’s easy. You know what I’ll do? I’ll say, ‘Hey, get more reps,’ and they’ll do it.”

The Dolphins led the NFL in passing yards last season, but currently rank 14th in passing yards per game. Their offense struggled after Tagovailoa missed four of the team’s first six games with a concussion, but Hill’s production hasn’t returned to his 2022 and 2023 levels.

Tagovailoa agreed that more practice reps could help get Miami’s offense back on track.

“If he told you that, that’s what we need more of. We need reps. Me and him need more reps,” he said. “That’s what we’ve got to do. That’s the secret sauce for me to be able to connect with all these guys. . . . If we miss a throw, if we’re out on a throw in team practice or on a routes. on-air rep, we meet whatever time we have, whether it’s after or during, while the defense is going, and we get the reps that tell him what I see, and then he tells me how he feels about running It certainly has a lot to do with reps.

At 6-7, the Dolphins trail the Denver Broncos by two games for the AFC’s final playoff seed. If the Broncos lose their remaining two games and Miami wins and finishes with a better record than the Indianapolis Colts, the Dolphins will secure their third consecutive playoff berth.