MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Jaylen Waddle had his best game of the year in the Miami Dolphins’ 34-15 beatdown of the New England Patriots on Sunday in Week 12.
But after his second-half touchdown, Waddle left the waddling to team owner Stephen Ross.
You know the dance, right? Hands to the side, palms down, teetering back and forth like a penguin’s — well — waddle.
It’s become Waddle’s signature move. But he’s kept the dance on — ahem — ice in 2024, prompting questions about whether it’s been retired.
A Breakout Game for Miami Dolphins WR Jaylen Waddle
Not so, Waddle said postgame Sunday after catching eight balls for 144 yards and the touchdown — a 23-yard catch-and-run in the third quarter that put the Dolphins up 31 points.
But it’s certainly on hiatus.
“I don’t know, man,” Waddle said. “It was getting like out of hand. When I go out in public, people be trying to tell me to do it, so it’s just like, ah.”
It’s unclear whether this is a recent decision or one he made months back. Waddle simply hasn’t had much to celebrate this year — beyond his massive contract extension, of course.
Even after Sunday’s explosion — he had his second-highest receiving yards total in more than two years — Waddle is still on pace to set career lows in catches, receiving yards, and touchdowns.
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That’s led to suspicions that Waddle has been less than thrilled with his usage in 2024 — a theory he was quick to shoot down Sunday.
“I was more frustrated from the losses than individual, me having individual goals or anything,” Waddle said. “That’s more like a media thing, really.”
He added: “It’s good. I can go back to college when we got a lot of playmakers all over the field. That’s what makes this game so exciting. That’s what brings the fans out, playing with such great talent. So no, it can’t be like that.”
More than anything, Waddle’s dip in productivity is a result of smart football. Instead of forcing the ball into double teams to Waddle and Tyreek Hill — which was a big problem late in 2023 — Tagovailoa is finding the open man.
De’Von Achane and Jonnu Smith have been huge parts of the Dolphins’ passing game this year and combined for three more touchdown catches in Sunday’s win.
“I think it was just a matter of how the flow of the game went today with what they wanted to do,” said Tagovailoa, who completed 29 of 40 passes for 317 yards and four touchdowns on Sunday. “We got to see early on and Jaylen had his opportunities and he made use of those opportunities.”
Added Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel: “He’s had so much growth over the last month and a half while also fielding questions left and right, whether it’s in the media or even at home, like ‘Where is the production? Where is the production? Where is the production?’
“To get better when the ball isn’t coming your way so that you’re aptly prepared when the ball does, it’s everything that I believe in.”