Tua Tagovailoa continues to remind everyone why the Miami Dolphins hitched their wagon to him
With the Dolphins ahead 31-7 over the New England Patriots on Sunday afternoon in the fourth quarter at Hard Rock Stadium, Mike McDaniel unloaded the bench and sent the backups in. After all, Tua Tagovailoa and the Dolphins offense had basically had their way with their AFC East rivals for most of the day. With […]
With the Dolphins ahead 31-7 over the New England Patriots on Sunday afternoon in the fourth quarter at Hard Rock Stadium, Mike McDaniel unloaded the bench and sent the backups in.
After all, Tua Tagovailoa and the Dolphins offense had basically had their way with their AFC East rivals for most of the day. With a short week ahead, it made sense to get their starters some rest.
Well, that is until backup QB Skylar Thompson couldn't get the handoff executed with Jaylen Wright, leading to a fumble that the Patriots returned for a touchdown to turn a blowout into a two-score game.
The result? Tua Tagovailoa came back on the field and helped avoid disaster. But, then again, that's what he's been doing over the last few weeks. Bailing out this team after mishaps. And Tua has shown during that time – and during his time on injured reserve with a concussion – just how very invaluable he is to the Miami Dolphins franchise. Just why the team handed him a 4-year, $212.4 million extension during training camp.
Of course, Tua was able to help close out the game, as the Dolphins won 34-15 and improved to 5-6 on the season, their third straight win since he returned from IR. And Sunday was his best performance of the season. He completed 29/40 attempts for 317 yards with 4 touchdowns and no turnovers.
It wasn't just the numbers. It was the playbook opening up completely, with everything on the table for Mike McDaniel. Because there are very, very few quarterbacks in the league who can put the football in a specific spot and at a specific moment like Tagovailoa can do.
And that includes what Miami had on its roster. Skylar Thompson couldn't do it. Tyler Huntley couldn't either. Tim Boyle, no shot. However, in retrospect, that pretty much that would have been the case for the majority of quarterbacks the Dolphins brought in this offseason.
And even among starting-caliber quarterbacks, it's hard to see many who could operate Mike McDaniel's offense with the accuracy and timing that Tua possesses, which are far and away the strengths of his game. And those have been on full display over the last three weeks.
It's been a great stretch for this Dolphins team, who are now finally looking like what many hoped they would this season. But Tua's high quality of play has proven that Chris Grier's decision to invest in him was a wise one – as has the sting of his absence.
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