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.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

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)

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Jenniffer González Colón was sworn in Thursday as Puerto Rico’s new governor during a normally ebullient ceremony held amid widespread anger over a blackout that hit the U.S. territory days ago.

González, a Republican who backs President-elect Donald Trump and whose pro-statehood New Progressive Party secured a historic third consecutive term after she won the Nov. 5 election, has pledged to stabilize the Caribbean island’s crumbling power grid.

“There are many challenges facing our island,” she said in her first public address as governor as she acknowledged the blackout in a speech to a crowd gathered in front of the seaside Capitol. “That is precisely what moves me to address that first challenge with a sense of urgency.”

She pledged to improve Puerto Rico's infrastructure, hospitals and schools, adding that she intends to boost bilingual education.

“I'm going to fulfill my promises to you,” she said. “I am not going to govern only for those who voted for me. I am going to be the governor of all Puerto Ricans.”

Before the start of a ceremony to celebrate her swearing in, González attended Mass surrounded by family and supporters.

“What better than to come first to thank God and to ask God to give me the wisdom, the fortitude and the tools to fulfill everything I promised the people of Puerto Rico,” she told reporters.

A protester with her face covered interrupted the Mass at Parroquia Santa Teresita in San Juan. She yelled, “Jenniffer, we came for you! Puerto is without power.”

Meanwhile, a small group of protesters gathered at the Capitol before González’s arrival. They were especially rankled that a well-known, outspoken activist elected to Puerto Rico's Senate for the first time was not allowed inside the Capitol, with the elections commission noting he had not yet been officially certified.

Protesting the ceremony was Yara Humarán Martínez, an aquatic physical therapist whose 83-year-old mother remains without power.

“I don’t have any hope that she will change anything,” she said of the new governor.

González has promised to appoint an energy “czar” to review potential contractual breaches while another operator is found to possibly replace Luma Energy, a private company that oversees the transmission and distribution of power in Puerto Rico.

However, no contract can be canceled without prior approval from Puerto Rico’s Energy Bureau and a federal control board that oversees the island’s finances.

Outages were still being reported on Thursday as crews tried to stabilize the grid following the blackout that hit early Tuesday, leaving 1.3 million customers in the dark as Puerto Ricans prepared for New Year’s Eve.

While electricity had been restored to 99% of the utility's 1.47 million total customers, more than 600,000 were temporarily left without power on New Year’s Day when part of the system collapsed again, according to Luma.

“The stability of the system is fragile,” Luma said late Wednesday as it warned of more outages on Thursday given an ongoing lack of generation. “We know and understand how frustrating it is for our clients to be without service for long periods of time.”

Backup generators were put in place to ensure a smooth swearing-in ceremony on Thursday given that renowned musicians were scheduled to perform.

The anticipated revelry was characteristic of González, a 48-year-old attorney and recent mother of twins who prior to the election showed up at her party’s assembly wearing a Wonder Woman tiara and cuffs. She also made the news after peeling out of one of her party’s conventions in an off-road vehicle earlier this year.

Supporters and critics gathered for the ceremony, some clutching umbrellas to shield themselves from the blistering sun.

“Because she’s a woman, she’s going to be a great governor,” said Amanda Sánchez León, a retired government employee, who arrived two hours early to secure a spot outside an area reserved for guests. She said she was hopeful that González would reduce violent crimes and improve education and health, “especially for us older people.” She also believed the power crisis would improve and that González would see her promises through.

“The people are suffering,” Sánchez said.

Also supporting the new governor was Lizbeth Rodríguez, a school nurse, who believed that as a mother, González would prioritize the island’s weak education system and tackle crime.

But Rodríguez remains rankled at what she believes is the misspending of government money.

“That’s what bothers the people. You’re doing fine, sure, but look at us,” she said.

González, of the pro-statehood New Progressive Party, had beat former Gov. Pedro Pierluisi during their party’s primary in June.

At the time, she was Puerto Rico’s representative in Congress and had run on Pierluisi’s ticket four years ago.

After beating him, she won the Nov. 5 general election with more than 526,000 votes, or 41%. Trailing her was Juan Dalmau, who represented Puerto Rico’s Independence Party and the Citizen Victory Movement.

It was the first time that the Popular Democratic Party, which supports the island’s territorial status quo and is one of Puerto Rico’s two main parties, came in third in a gubernatorial race.

While González’s immediate challenge is Puerto Rico’s fragile power grid, she also inherits a feeble economy that has slowly been strengthening since the U.S. territory’s government declared in 2015 that it was unable to pay its more than $70 billion public debt load.

In 2017, it filed for the biggest U.S. municipal bankruptcy in history.

All but one government agency has since restructured its debt, with Puerto Rico’s Electric Power Authority still struggling to do so. It holds more than $9 billion in debt, the largest of any government agency.

Experts warn the island will keep struggling to attract investors until the debt is restructured and the power grid strengthened.

González also will have to work alongside a federal control board that U.S. Congress created in 2016 to oversee Puerto Rico’s finances and supervise the ongoing reconstruction after Hurricane María slammed into the island in September 2017 as a powerful Category 4 storm, razing the electrical grid.

She also faces pressure to create affordable housing, lower power bills and the general cost of living, reduce violent crime, boost Puerto Rico’s economy, with the island locked out of capital markets since 2015, and improve a limping health care system as thousands of doctors flock to the U.S. mainland.

Like other governors of the pro-statehood party, González has said she would push for Puerto Rico to become the 51st state, but such a change would require approval from U.S. Congress and the U.S. president.

A nonbinding referendum held during the Nov. 5 election, the seventh of its kind, asked voters to choose one of three options: statehood, independence and independence with free association, under which issues like foreign affairs, U.S. citizenship and use of the U.S. dollar would be negotiated.

With 63% of voters participating, statehood earned more than 615,000 votes, or 59%, with independence coming in second for the first time with more than 309,000 votes, or 29%. Independence with free association garnered more than 128,000 votes, or 12%.

While Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens, they are not allowed to vote in presidential elections, and officials with the New Progressive Party have noted the island receives unequal treatment when it comes to Medicaid, Medicare and other federal programs.

“Statehood means equality, and I want us to have that access to opportunities,” González said. “I want to have those opportunities here so that our people can move forward.”

A street is dark during a blackout in San Juan, Puerto Rico, after sunset on Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Alejandro Granadillo)