MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — I still have playoff hopes for the 2024 Miami Dolphins.

Honestly.

Obviously, my playoff hopes are slimmer than a few weeks ago.

But my playoff hopes for the 2024 Dolphins (1-3) still exist.

I talked to quite a few players after the game Monday, and then in the locker room Wednesday.

I don’t get the sense coach Mike McDaniel has lost the locker room.

I don’t get the sense this team has quit, or is about to quit.

I do get the sense frustration is simmering here and there.

But that’s normal when losses mount and disappointment builds.

Regardless, I think this team answers the call starting this week at New England Patriots (1-3).

There’s too much talent on this roster for this team to drop to 1-4.

There’s too much talent on this roster for this team to fall out of the playoff picture before December. With or without Tua.

Period.

I’ll say this, too: this is another one of those times that someone needs to pull wide receiver Tyreek Hill to the side and have a chat with him, make sure everything is OK, and that he’s pointed in the right direction.

Hill was clearly frustrated during the game.

Hill’s frustration was apparent when he kicked at the loose ball in the end zone after quarterback Tyler “Snoop” Huntley overthrew him when he was open on a deep route.

“Man, we were close,” Huntley said about nearly making that completion.

Hill’s frustration was also captured by TV cameras when he was shouting on the sideline, possibly within earshot of McDaniel and wide receivers coach Wes Welker.

Hill tried to play the latter off as motivational speaking.

“I’m in a good spot in my life, and I wouldn’t refer to it as shouting,” he said of the sideline incident. “That’s just me motivating my teammates. I was simply telling 2-5 (rookie running back Jaylen Wright) that we need more of that because he had a great run there towards the end of the game. I was like, ‘I need more of that. I need more of that 2-5.’”

That’s not what I saw.

Moving on, you can’t have Hill drop a low pass, which turned out to be a lateral, and not chase after the ball in that situation. The Titans got to the loose ball. It resulted in a turnover.

That’s unacceptable.

McDaniel said turnovers are addressed in a team meeting and that Hill took accountability for this one.

So there’s that.

But back to the team and its playoff hopes …

I’ve always said that I like this team’s fighting spirit. I’ve said that since McDaniel took over, and that’s still true today.

And I’ve said I like this team’s depth, and that depth is what’s allowed this team to make the playoffs each of the past two seasons. If you doubt that, consider the numerous injury problems the Dolphins have had both years.

This team will battle.

I think that happens again.

Yes, I’ve been pointedly critical of McDaniel. It’s not personal. I like and respect McDaniel. He’s fun. He’s creative. He’s an original. He’s unapologetically himself.

My criticism is due to McDaniel’s strategy and philosophy. His teams have underachieved. I wish he’d change. I wish he’d be more flexible.

I’ve also been critical of general manager Chris Grier and the way McDaniel and Grier constructed this roster.

But I remain optimistic about the players, the talent, the depth and this team’s fighting spirit.

This isn’t some desperate attempt to earn favor from the Dolphins (that ship has sailed) or Dolphins fans. And it’s not hypocrisy.

NFL players and coaches always talk about the 24-hour rule, meaning you let go of the game, win or lose, after 24 hours and look ahead.

That’s what I’m doing with last week’s (OK, it was Monday) Tennessee loss.

Appropriately enough, I’m on to New England.

I think the Dolphins are, too.

I’ll add this …

This Dolphins team has been through a lot.

A few of them were here in 2021 when they started 1-7 and then surged to finish 9-8, barely missing the playoffs.

A few more were here in 2022 when they started 8-3, endured a five-game losing streak and finished 9-8, barely making the playoffs.

Lots were here in 2023 when they started 9-3 and finished by losing four of their last six games, earning the privilege to face Super Bowl champion Kansas City in one of the coldest games in NFL history.

And practically everyone has been here this season for Hill’s pregame police detainment before the opener against Jacksonville, Tua’s concussion the following week against Buffalo, the breakdown of the offense at Seattle, the search for a new starting backup quarterback, and the current three-game losing streak.

This team is always full of drama.

But it fights to the finish.

I expect these players to keep battling, and, quite honestly, I expect the Dolphins to win at New England.

I have no problem with these players.

And, at this point, these players have no major problem with their coach.

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