Tua Tagovailoa has proven to his detractors that he is a viable starting quarterback. It proved to its detractors that it could carry nuclear attacks. But the speed of Tyreek Hill’s cheat code can only take the Miami heavyweight so far. There is still a barrier to overcome for Tagovailoa.
He must overcome his penchant for underperforming against stifling, playoff-caliber defenses. This is the final obstacle to its upward trajectory. On Sunday, Tagovailoa had another problem against the type of resistance that MVP contenders are usually able to overcome. While Miami’s defense caused problems for Patrick Mahomes and turned Travis Kelce into a spectator, Tagovailoa threw for just 193 yards and a touchdown. The running game clicked, the defense rolled and the offense benefited from Kansas City’s crippling penalties in the second half. Everyone was executed on Sunday except Tagovailoa.
For much of the first half, Tagovailoa and the Dolphins offense were in sleep mode and began the second half trailing the defending champions 21-0. Tagovailoa finally got away and Raheem Mostert put Miami in position to equalize in the final minutes. However, a series of mistakes ultimately cost Miami the final drive.
On third-and-10 in Kansas City territory, Tagovailoa threw a duck, which fell to the turf well behind. a wide open Cedrick Wilson who had only green grass in front of him. On fourth down, Tagovailoa didn’t even give himself a chance to take a second shot down the field. As Steve Spagnuolo blitzed Cover 0, Tagovailoa missed the snap, fell on it and the play was over. It was a deflating end for the Dolphins and Mike McDaniels, who had become the darling of the German media.
Overall, the Chiefs defense became the latest elite unit to crush Tua. chicken of the sea. For Tagovailoa in particular, Sunday was an unfortunate continuation of his shaky play against elite competition. Facing teams below .500, Tagovailoa rises to the occasion. But he was a shell of himself against the Buffalo Bills, withered under the pressure of Philadelphia’s rush and had to be constantly bailed out by the ground game and defense against Kansas City.
On a weekend where Josh Dobbs put on a rally for the Minnesota Vikings in his first week on the roster and rookie CJ Stroud turned on the GOAT setting against Tampa Bay, Tagovailoa’s instability in situations pressure is even more striking. Before this week, Tagovailoa led the MVP field by a hair. Mahomes probably passed him after Sunday’s result, but even he was pedestrian in the second half. Mahomes completely disappeared as the Chiefs offense remained scoreless for the final 32 minutes of regulation.
The fact that his favorite target, Tyreek Hill, aka the the man who should be mid-season MVP, fumbled in the first half, giving up a defensive touchdown to the Kansas City defense. The last time the Dolphins beat a team above .500 was against the Buffalo Bills in Week 3 of the 2022 season. Against teams with a winning record this season, they are averaging 22 points less per game than against winning teams. Tagovailoa’s concussion issues during the 2022 season took away much of that narrative, but it really started to pick up steam after the Dolphins’ offense faltered against Fred Warner and the Dolphins’ stifling defense. San Francisco 49ers. Tagovailoa’s struggles sent the Dolphins into a tailspin from which they never recovered. We now know he travels with them.
At 25 years old, Tagovailoa is still a work in progress, but he’ll play in more than one Super Bowl in the second half of 2023. Miami’s championship window may be wide open now, but the Dolphins need to determine if Tagovailoa is along – answer term. Tagovailoa and general manager Chris Grier filed for extension talks this summer. Tagovailoa’s breakthrough in 2022 was no fluke, but was it a ceiling?
Fourth-quarter comebacks against potential playoff foes are what separate Jared Goff from franchise cornerstones. While the trickery of movement, speed and finesse can only take Miami so far, Tagovailoa needs to start carrying a bigger load.
Once quarterbacks sign an extension, the clock starts ticking until the salary cap space around them dries up. Miami is paying Hill and Jalen Ramsey top-3 money at their respective positions. Given the type of salary offered to quarterbacks in contract extensions, greater consistency against upper-echelon opposition is a legitimate expectation for Tua Tagovailoa.
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