Huntley will get more practice reps than injured Tagovailoa ahead of Dolphins' must-win game at Jets

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — There are several unknowns for the Miami Dolphins entering their regular-season finale, beginning with their starting quarterback.

Coach Mike McDaniel said the Dolphins are in a “gray area” with Tua Tagovailoa after the quarterback was scratched ahead of Sunday's win at Cleveland because of a hip injury.

Tagovailoa's body didn't respond the way the team had hoped with the injury sustained in Week 15 against Houston, McDaniel said, and he doesn't know about the starter's availability the rest of the season.

“Where does that leave us? Firmly in the unknown,” McDaniel said Monday. He added that Tagovailoa playing against Cleveland wouldn't have been safe.

“It was not safe at all," McDaniel said, "based upon a litany of things that his body was vulnerable to as well as his inability to avoid and move within the pocket ... just leaving him really unprotected is the way that I would say, both on impact and the ability to avoid impact.”

This is for certain: If the Dolphins beat the New York Jets on Sunday and Kansas City wins at Denver, Miami is in the playoffs after starting the season 2-6. But that Chiefs win likely will have to happen without Patrick Mahomes and many other Kansas City starters, who are expected to rest.

Either way, McDaniel said his team's focus is squarely on the Jets.

“It’s a very clear message to the team that we’ve been afforded the opportunity to execute upon,” he said. “When you dig a hole within the season that you have to get yourself out of, and then you’re faced with the reality that you need to take care of business and you need some help, you learn quickly that any time spent on the help is not benefitting the desired goal.”

Tyler “Snoop” Huntley will get more practice reps than Tagovailoa this week, and McDaniel is preparing game plans for both contingencies.

Huntley gave McDaniel confidence in his ability to lead the team with a solid performance against Cleveland.

In his fourth start this season, Huntley completed 22 of 26 passes for 225 yards passing with one rushing touchdown and one throwing. It was by far his best start for the Dolphins after being signed earlier this season when Tagovailoa went on injured reserve with a concussion.

“I do feel good,” Huntley said after the game. "I actually feel more comfortable with these plays. So yeah, a couple weeks in the office definitely makes a difference.”

Miami's defense didn't allow a touchdown for the second time this season and forced two turnovers. Tyrel Dodson filled in for injured Mike linebacker Anthony Walker Jr., and the Dolphins' midseason pickup intercepted Dorian Thompson-Robinson in the second. Da'Shawn Hand recovered a strip-sack fumble of Thompson-Robinson in the third. Miami also did not allow Cleveland to convert a fourth down in four tries.

It's hard to imagine the Dolphins repeating Sunday's success against a team with more than Cleveland's three wins if they don't clean up the penalties. Miami has been heavily penalized all season and was flagged 11 times in the matchup, with five accepted against the offense.

Huntley. He was the first Miami player since Jay Fiedler in 2003 to have both a passing and rushing TD with 225-plus yards, while completing 80% of his passes without an interception. The comfort that Huntley displayed was evident to his teammates.

“Today’s game showed he can throw the ball on time, he can read defenses and he can also make plays with his feet,” Tyreek Hill said. “Him being able to do all that, and then also come into the locker room at halftime and then talk to the whole entire offense, telling us to pick it up a notch, shows the growth and just him first getting here and now. I was really impressed by that.”

The running backs. De'Von Achane, Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson all saw carries, but Miami managed only 74 yards on 2.7 yards per carry. The Dolphins' leading rusher on Sunday was Huntley, who had 52 yards on seven attempts including his rushing TD.

LT Terron Armstead appeared to reaggravate the knee injury he has played through all season and couldn't get past the second quarter. McDaniel said Monday that Armstead will “see what he can do" to play, but the team is preparing for rookie Patrick Paul to start. ... WR Jaylen Waddle (knee) did not play because of a risk of reaggravating his injury, but McDaniel said he was optimistic about his availability this week.

.500 — The Dolphins got to 8-8 with Sunday's win, their first time being .500 or better since starting the season 1-1.

The Dolphins will try to sweep the Jets for the second straight season when they play in New York on Sunday. They may have an eye on the Chiefs, who play at Denver during the same 4:25 p.m. EST window.

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Cleveland Browns quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson, left, is tackled by Miami Dolphins linebacker Emmanuel Ogbah (91) and defensive tackle Calais Campbell (93) during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/David Richard)

Miami Dolphins defensive tackle Da'Shawn Hand (90) reacts after recovering a Cleveland Browns fumble during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/David Richard)

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tyler Huntley (18) scores a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/David Richard)

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, right, greets quarterback Tyler Huntley (18) as he comes off the field during the first half of an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/David Richard)

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, left, talks with head coach Mike McDaniel, right, before an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/David Richard)

Glenn Hall, a Hockey Hall of Famer whose ironman streak of 502 starts as a goaltender remains an NHL record, has died. He was 94.

Nicknamed “Mr. Goalie,” Hall worked to stop pucks at a time when players at his position were bare-faced, before masks of any kind became commonplace. He did it as well as just about anyone of his generation, which stretched from the days of the Original Six into the expansion era.

A spokesperson for the Chicago Blackhawks confirmed the team received word of Hall’s death from his family. A league historian in touch with Hall’s son, Pat, said Hall died at a hospital in Stony Plain, Alberta, on Wednesday.

A pioneer of the butterfly style of goaltending of dropping to his knees, Hall backstopped Chicago to the Stanley Cup in 1961. He won the Conn Smythe Trophy as most valuable player of the playoffs in 1968 with St. Louis when the Blues reached the final before losing to Montreal. He was the second of just six Conn Smythe winners from a team that did not hoist the Cup.

His run of more than 500 games in net is one of the most untouchable records in sports, given how the position has changed in the decades since. Second in history is Alec Connell with 257 from 1924-30.

“Glenn was sturdy, dependable and a spectacular talent in net,” Commissioner Gary Bettman said. “That record, set from 1955-56 to 1962-63, still stands, probably always will, and is almost unfathomable — especially when you consider he did it all without a mask.”

Counting the postseason, Hall started 552 games in a row.

Hall won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 1956 when playing for the Detroit Red Wings. After two seasons, he was sent to the Black Hawks along with legendary forward Ted Lindsay.

Hall earned two of his three Vezina Trophy honors as the league's top goalie with Chicago, in 1963 and '67. The Blues took him in the expansion draft when the NHL doubled from six teams to 12, and he helped them reach the final in each of their first three years of existence, while winning the Vezina again at age 37.

Hall was in net when Boston's Bobby Orr scored in overtime to win the Cup for the Bruins in 1970, a goal that's among the most famous in hockey history because of the flying through the air celebration that followed. He played one more season with St. Louis before retiring in 1971.

“His influence extended far beyond the crease," Blues chairman Tom Stillman said. “From the very beginning, he brought credibility, excellence, and heart to a new team and a new NHL market.”

A native of Humboldt, Saskatchewan, Hall was a seven-time first-team NHL All-Star who had 407 wins and 84 shutouts in 906 regular-season games. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1975, and his No. 1 was retired by Chicago in 1988.

Hall was chosen as one of the top 100 players in the league's first 100 years.

Blackhawks chairman and CEO Danny Wirtz called Hall an innovator and “one of the greatest and most influential goaltenders in the history of our sport and a cornerstone of our franchise.”

“We are grateful for his extraordinary contributions to hockey and to our club, and we will honor his memory today and always,” Wirtz said.

The Blackhawks paid tribute to Hall and former coach and general manager Bob Pulford with a moment of silence before Wednesday night’s game against St. Louis. Pulford died Monday.

A Hall highlight video was shown on the center-ice videoboard. The lights were turned off for the moment of silence, except for a spotlight on the No. 1 banner for Hall that hangs in the rafters at the United Center.

Fellow Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur, the league's leader in wins with 691 and games played with 1,266, posted a photo of the last time he saw Hall along with a remembrance of him.

“Glenn Hall was a legend, and I was a big fan of his,” Brodeur said on social media. “He set the standard for every goaltender who followed. His toughness and consistency defined what it meant to play.”

AP Sports Writer Jay Cohen in Chicago contributed to this report.

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FILE - Glenn Hall, second from left, stands with fellow former Chicago Blackhawks players Stan Mikita, former general manager Tommy Ivan, Bobby Hull, Bill Wirtz and Tony Esposito during a pre-game ceremony at the Chicago Stadium in Chicago, Ill., April 14, 1994. (AP Photo/Fred Jewell, File)

FILE - St. Louis Blues goalie Glenn Hall, top right, is pinned to his net waiting to make a save on a Montreal Canadians shot as Blues' Noel Picard (4) tries to block the puck while Canadiens' John Ferguson (22) and Ralph Backstorm wait for a rebound in the third period of their NHL hockey Stanley Cup game, May 5, 1968. (AP Photo/Fred Waters, File)