Dolphins' losing streak should make us appreciate Tua Tagovailoa more
Fans can be rabid in the way in which they defend their favorite athletes, but the supporters of Tua Tagovailoa have an inarguable point added to their repertoire right now: The Dolphins need Tagovailoa under center.
The franchise's long-term prospects are always going to be up for discussion, but Tagovailoa's current impact cannot be debated. With him in the lineup, the Dolphins had one of the best offenses in the NFL. Without him, they’ve screeched to a halt and have fielded a unit that struggles to put points on the board. Tagovailoa has been out since Week 4, when he was stretchered off the field and taken to the hospital for head and neck injuries.
Miami head coach Mike McDaniel didn't want to make excuses about quarterback injuries after his team's loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.
"I'm going to demand that the team does not point at that to be a reason for what's happened or a reason for the loss," he said.
Still, it's hard to ignore the difference. In their two full games without Tagovailoa this season, the Dolphins have scored just 33 points compared to the explosive, big-play ability they showed in their earlier outings. Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle just might be the best wide receiver duo in the NFL, but it’s clear that they miss the steadiness that Tagovailoa provides this offense. Teddy Bridgewater and Skylar Thompson look to be competent backup quarterbacks for the most part, but they’ve proved that this isn’t an offense where just anyone can thrive. There’s still a margin of error that has to be accounted for and it seems that those two are incapable of filling the gap — which is why they’re backups at this point in their careers.
Saying that a team really misses its starting quarterback isn’t groundbreaking analysis, but it shows that Tagovailoa supporters — who have endured a fair share of skepticism directed at their QB — are right about his skill level. The Dolphins' offense has had long stretches over the past two games where they were unable to get much going, which is a tough pill to swallow considering how much skill talent they have available to them. Hill, Waddle and Mike Gesicki all have the talent to be dynamic receiving options, but there’s just more juice to squeeze than what the Dolphins are getting on offense.
Tagovailoa’s injury situation has been handled cautiously, which is necessary, but it’s shown really how big of an asset that he was for the Dolphins in his first season under McDaniel. To his credit, McDaniel has kept the focus on his entire team during the Dolphins’ three-game losing streak. He said that losing the turnover and penalty battles were key after the Dolphins’ loss to the Vikings.
That’s fair, but the truth is they probably wouldn’t have turned the ball over as many times as they did with Tagovailoa in the lineup. Bridgewater fared better than Thompson did when he was inserted into the Vikings game, but he still threw two interceptions, including one late in the game that all but sealed the Dolphins' fate.
Luckily for Miami, Tagovailoa should be back for the game next week against the Pittsburgh Steelers, which the Dolphins desperately need to win. The Buffalo Bills look like a juggernaut right now, and the Dolphins can’t really afford to continue to drop games if they’re going to get a favorable playoff seeding. Another positive for the Dolphins is their next five games are against the Steelers, Detroit Lions, Chicago Bears, Cleveland Browns and Houston Texans — five winnable games for their offense to get back on track.
The Dolphins will be better with Tagovailoa back in the lineup and they need him to come in and get back to playing like he was prior to his injury. Entering Week 6, Tagovailoa ranked third in expected points added per play (0.335, behind only Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes). That’s what the ceiling is for the Dolphins offense — and they need Tagovailoa back to achieve that ceiling.
