Dolphins loss at Chargers makes final month a huge and tense test for Miami -- and for Tua | Opinion
Was this the Miami Dolphins’ playoff-headed magical season disappearing right before our eyes?
Was what had been a growing consensus of trust in Tua Tagovailoa taking that same kind of hit?
It felt something like that watching the Dolphins fall at the Los Angeles Chargers 23-17 Sunday night, a not-ready-for-prime time offensive performance by Miami and a second straight West Coast loss putting the Fins’ record now at 8-5.
The Dolphins flew home clinging to the No. 6 seed in the jockeying for one of seven AFC playoff spots, but trending downward now and with a rugged close to the NFL regular season: At Buffalo, home for Christmas vs. Aaron Rodgers and Green Bay, at New England, then home vs. the New York Jets.
Sunday night’s performance had to work on Dolfans’ holiday spirits like delivered packages being stolen off your front porch.
Tagovailoa was mostly horrible, helplessly inaccurate, struggling all night. He would finish 10-for-28 for 145 yards. He missed all three attempts on the opening series and it was a harbinger. In the first half he’d been 3-for-15 for 25 yards, worst one-half accuracy by any NFL QB this season.
Coach Mike McDaniel admitted the Chargers’ game plan was better than Miami’s, especially on defense, with an unexpectedly high amount of press coverage to disrupt the Dolphins’ routes.
“If we’re not executing it,” said McDaniel, “then I need to have plays that guys will execute appropriately. Collectively, we weren’t good enough.”
Tagovailoa did not play the defense-surprised-us excuse card, saying, ‘It really just goes back to the details of how we play our offense. It’s very disappointing to go out and do what we did.”
Miami would have been shut out in the first half by the NFL’s third-worst defense (in most points allowed) -- one depleted this night by injuries -- if Tyreek Hill had not scooped up a teammate’s fumble and dashed 57 yards for the score, speed and alertness turning a mistake into seven points.
Big-play Hill also scored on a 60-yard touchdown pass, the lone highlight from Tua’s arm on a night of futility. Hill’s 81 yards on four catches gave him 1,460 catch-yards for the year, which leads the NFL and on Sunday broke the Dolphins’ season record that Mark Clayton had held since 1984.
(This was Hill playing on a tender ankle, by the way.)
Tagovailoa’s futility contrasted with a powerful show by Chargers counterpart Justin Herbert, against whom Tua always will be compared after being drafted fifth overall by Miami in 2020 -- one spot ahead of Herbert.
Herbert was better than Tagovailoa their first two years, although Tua won their previous head-to-head matchup in 2020.
Tua had been better this season, though -- leading the league with a 112.0 passer rating entering this game and leading all players in Pro Bowl voting.
Sunday there was no comparison. Tagovailoa vs. Herbert 2.0 was a rout.
While Tua struggled, Herbert completed 39 of 51 passes for 367 yards and a touchdown.
Miami’s offense and Tagovailoa also were largely ineffective in last week’s loss in San Francisco, but understandably, against the 49ers’ top-ranked defense.
“There’s areas of work that you thought maybe you had down that, ‘Hey, reality check. Here’s what the deal is,’” Tagovailoa had said.
So, another reality check? Something worse? Whatever suddenly ails the Fins’ offense, traveling to Buffalo in winter, with snow expected next Saturday night, isn’t the friendliest venue, or spot on the calendar, to find a remedy.
Miami has a monumental decision to make after this season: Spend big to re-sign Tagovailao long-term and commit to him as their QB of the future. Or decide instead they can do better, by draft or trade.
That decision seemed foregone a couple of games ago on the wing of a five-game winning streak that saw Tagovailoa in superb form.
That decision, right now, still should be foregone. Belief in Tua should be strong enough to withstand last week and Sunday night.
Has there entered any doubt, though? Even a little?
The onus is on Miami to not blow what should be a playoff season. And that means the onus is on Tua Tagovailoa to finish strong
Starting on a short week. In Buffalo. Surrounded by snow.
“We still control our own destiny,” said tackle Terron Armstead. “Nothing’s changed.”
Except two straight losses, and one of the worst games from Tua in his young career.
We’ll find out everything we need to know about this team -- and this quarterback -- over the next month.
This story was originally published December 11, 2022 at 11:48 PM.
