Pulled for the second time in 5 starts, what’s next for Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa?
Eight starts into his career, Tua Tagovailoa has as many fourth-quarter benchings as fourth-quarter comebacks:
Two.
For the second time in five starts, Brian Flores pulled Tagovailoa for performance late in the game.
And unlike the first time, on Saturday, it worked.
Ryan Fitzpatrick rallied the Dolphins past the Raiders Saturday night by scoring 13 points on the Dolphins’ final three possessions — as many as Tagovailoa had in his nine series.
Flores insisted late Saturday that Tagovailoa, not Fitzpatrick, will start Week 17 against the Bills. But it’s a fair to ask whether Tagovailoa gives the Dolphins the best chance to win that game.
This year has always been, in part, about developing Tagovailoa for the future, but he’s plateaued, at the very least, over the past few weeks. On Saturday, he needed 22 pass attempts for 94 passing yards — a reflection of how the offense simply doesn’t click when he’s on the field, in part because of lack of explosive plays.
Tagovailoa passes accounted for just two of the 10 longest Dolphins plays Saturday — and those ranked eighth (a 14-yard pass to Jakeem Grant) and ninth (a 13-yard pass to Grant).
Fitzpatrick, meanwhile, had three passes of over 30 yards on just 13 attempts.
“Sometimes you’ve got to just take the shots,” Tagovailoa said. “You’ve got to give guys an opportunity and you got to just get the ball down the field because time is running out and we don’t have all day to just think here, think there and try to move the ball that way.”
When asked if he needs to push the ball down the field more, given the fact that Fitzpatrick is able produce to with the same exact group of receivers, Tagovailoa replied:
“I would say so, but I would also say with what’s given, I’m going to continue to take what the defense gives me. If I feel like that’s not open, I’m not going to throw it. And so it’s I got to get better at that. That’s it.”
Flores suggested after the game he owes it to the players in the locker room to make a change at quarterback if a spark is needed, and shrugged off concerns that he might be impacting Tagovailoa’s confidence.
“This is the second time it’s happened, but I would say it’s just something you’ve got to learn from,” Tagovailoa said. “While Fitz is in there, I’m going to support him. I’m going to support the entire offense in there and as a team, really all you’re looking forward to is a win, and that’s what we got tonight so that’s what we’re happy with.”
On the season, Tagovailoa’s stats are respectable. He’s completed 65 percent of his passes and has thrown 10 touchdowns to 2 interceptions. But his yards per attempt (6.3) is among the worst in the league and lags far behind that of Fitzpatrick.
“It always feels good to win, first off,” Tagovailoa said. “I know outsiders are probably going to say, ‘Well, it wasn’t you in there that brought the win.’ Of course, it was Fitz and I think it was a great effort by not just him, but the entire offense. Just him understanding how to get in a groove and where to go quickly with the ball and whatnot; I think that’s what makes Fitz who he is and in a way, it really wasn’t as shocking tonight to see what had happened. They call him Fitzmagic for a reason.”
This story was originally published December 27, 2020 at 1:01 AM.
