Cote: With Dolphins’ QB change, can Tua still save his future in Miami? | Opinion
The playoff pretense ended officially Monday night for the Miami Dolphins. Now the NFL franchise with the league’s longest streak of seasons without a postseason victory can turn attention to what has mattered most all along:
Do the Dolphins have a quarterback? The right one?
Is Tua Tagovailoa the answer? Or just the question that never seems to go away ... or answer itself?
Most of six seasons have painted a picture increasingly negative. The last three games of this one have a chance, a chance, to at least try to shift the narrative a bit.
If it isn’t too late.
Miami’s 28-15 loss in Pittsburgh Monday night meant the playoff elimination we had plenty of time to get ready for, ever since the 1-6 start, then 2-7, buried the Fins in a hole too deep. The four wins in a row and five in the past six games entering Monday allowed the team to save a little face, show a little pride, but not much more.
“When you start the season the way we did, we make it hard on ourselves,” said Tua afterward.
Coach Mike McDaniel called the loss “supremely disappointing. We had high expectations and they fell short. Their team is better than our team. We went into game wanting to be the more physical team. But we fell short again coming out of halftime. Offensively we could have really used some third-down conversions. That was a real critical part of the game. A huge momentum turn [in the third quarter]. ”
McDaniel on Tuesday did not deny the possibility of a QB change, saying, “The quarterback play last night was not good enough. So, for me, everything is on the table.”
Wednesday he made that change, announcing Tua would be benched in favor of rookie Quinn Ewers beginning this coming Sunday vs. Cincinnati. Whether that change will continue the final two games is to be determined.
For now the Dolphins QB mess continues as Miami benches its six-year starter and former No. 1 draft pick in favor of a rookie almost undrafted, finally selected in the seventh and last round. Unless you truly believe Ewers is your future (doubtful), would seem to have been smarter for McDaniel to give Tua the final three games as a palette to either save his job or leave no doubt why he can’t.
The coach thought otherwise, apparently.
The game that was the final straw for Tua ran away from Miami in the third, a period in which Miami has scored fewer points than any other team.
“There were some things offensively we were doing that were messing ourselves up,” said Tua. “From my communication, guys knowing where to go, all of that.”
It was a regression. On the final possession, for example, Tua took a sack, and there was a delay of game penalty.
Pittsburgh schemed to limit Miami’s run-game and dare Tagovailoa to win the game. The Steelers’ strategy worked. Still, it wasn’t all on Tua and the offense. Miami’s defense tackled poorly much of the night.
Even if Miami had won Monday, its playoff hopes would have been put at 1 percent. You read that right. Honestly, being now mathematically, scientifically and theologically eliminated may be for the best. No more illusions when the Fin stands for finished.
And Monday’s game fell apart on Miami after a close first half with a pair of Aaron Rodgers touchdown passes leading a second half barrage.
The Fins got handled, dominated in time of possession and offensive plays. In fairness, Tua didn’t have a lot of chances. In reality, he did too little with the ones he did have, until finding Darren Waller for 6- and 13-yard TD passes in the fourth quarter, the game already out of hand.
McDaniel was asked afterward Monday night if he’d consider a QB change for final three games of season. He said then: “It would be very rash and short-sighted if I even tried to tackle that option.”
Must have slept on it, because Tuesday he allowed the possibility, and Wednesday made it real.
Tua is literally still trying to prove himself in Miami. He has three more games (or did) to raise hopes and belief.
The trends alone entering Monday’s game seemed to weigh against the Dolphins.
Coach Mike Tomlin in his long Steelers career was 21-3 on Monday Night Football -- and 11-0 at home. Miami’s infamous recent history of cold-weather failures was reflected in Tagovailoa’s now 0-6 NFL record with kickoff temperatures at 40 degrees and below. (Monday’s was 17, though clear and snow-free. No excuse, in other words.)
Besides, after four wins in a row and this recent run, didn’t you just feel like the Fins were due a loss? With Pittsburgh at home and in more of a realistic playoff fight than Miami’s pipe dream?
Miami trailed only 7-3 in a defensive first half.
Dolphins overcame a Tagovailoa interception -- his NFL-leading 15th -- to cash a 54-yard field goal, then gave up a 1-yard Steelers scoring run in the last seconds of the half.
Miami showed the fight we’ve seen, the resolve that seems to convey support for coach Mike McDaniel.
“If this team was made up of a bunch of quitters,” as ESPN’s Troy Aikman put it, “they’d have quit a long time ago.”
This isn’t about fight or any other intangible, though. It’s about something much more pragmatic.
Miami is not good enough at the most important position. Hasn’t been for most of six years, and certainly isn’t this season.
This issue with Tua has (thankfully) stopped being about concussions.
It is now simply about his not being good enough, compounded by the absence of a dual-threat with his inability to run.
I have been in Tagovailoa’s corner more than most, but he is losing even me. Can the last three games change anybody’s mind? Now it seems he might not get that chance.
The contract situation suggests Miami is likely tied to him next season but perhaps not beyond that. So he had these next three games and then 2026 to flip perceptions and withering belief in him. Now, not even that?
With the playoff pretension erased and McDaniel’s job presumably saved, the only question left is the one we’ve been asked all this decade, since the 2020 Draft.
Is Tua good enough? Is he the right guy?
The head coach seemed to say no on Wednesday. This season has made the answer inch to clearer to that than ever before.
Do you fancy a comeback story? A survivor tale? Do you enjoy rooting for the underdog? Like it when somebody beats the odds?
Tua Tagovailoa has become that in Miami.
This story was originally published December 15, 2025 at 11:22 PM.
