Miami Dolphins star quarterback Tua Tagovailoa had a literally perfect outing in his first preseason action this year where the team won against the Washington Commanders, 13-6. Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel and Tagovailoa spoke after the game to talk about the performances and their instant reactions.
Talking about Tagovailoa’s “perfect” night, he completed all five of his pass attempts for 51 yards to go along with a beautiful touchdown pass to River Cracraft, giving him a quarterback rating of 148.8. McDaniel would say to the media that the 26-year old signal-caller was “fired up” and complimented him on multiple aspects according to NBC Sports.
“I thought it was probably the least amount of nerves that he’s had the first time stepping out on the football field,” McDaniel said on Tagovailoa. “I thought it was just us executing some of our day-one concepts and he didn’t force any issues, I really liked his decisions, I liked his ball placement, I thought he did a good job in his, I think, 11 reps. So it was nice to see him out there and connecting some passes, I know he was fired up.”
The University of Alabama product is coming off of a career-best season in multiple respects whether it be playing every single game despite having a concerning injury history or it was leading the NFL with 4,624 yards. He still has a lot to prove this upcoming season being to stay healthy, build off of last season’s performance, and show why Tagovailoa is worth the contract extension he received which was worth $212 million.
Tua Tagovailoa talks playing without main Dolphins wide receivers
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Tagovailoa would only play one drive and excelled even without such stars play makers like Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle to throw to or even Terron Armstead to protect him on the offensive line. For the Dolphins quarterback, it was no problem as shown Saturday night in the win over the Commanders.
“That’s not the first time we’ve not had those guys in there, and we’ve played and we’ve scored,” Tagovailoa said. “Would it be good to have those guys? It would be great to have those guys. It opens up our game plan for a lot of deep things, and it opens up the run game as well…But outside of that, football is football with whoever you’ve got in there. You’ve got to see it, envision it, and then you go through your keys. If it’s one high, this is how I’m going to read it. If it’s two high, this is how I’m going to read it regardless of who’s in.”
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Tua Tagovailoa on if he will have any more snaps in the preseason
That likely could be the last time Miami fans see Tagovailoa in the preseason as their final game will be against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers next Friday. While it is not officially announced yet, they could shut down their main stars in preparation for the regular season opener.
“We’ll assess what happens then, and we’ll see if we need any more or not,” Tagovailoa said on if his preseason has ended for now.
They open Week 1 against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, Sept. 8.