The Miami Dolphins find themselves in an uphill battle to make the playoffs again, sitting at 5-7 with five games remaining, and Tua Tagovailoa says he’s largely to blame.
In his weekly media session Wednesday, Tagovailoa was asked how surprised he was at his team’s record, which comes after the Dolphins started 8-3 and 9-3 the past two seasons.
“Very surprised,” Tagovailoa said. “I don’t think that shows the character of who we are as a team, doesn’t show the work that we’ve put in this offseason together.
“But, you know, nobody else will say it but me and I feel like this has a lot to do with myself, obviously, putting myself in harm’s way in the second game going down, basically leaving my guys out to dry that. That’s what I would say. And anyone can have an opinion about like, it’s football, it’s this, it’s that; I do take take heart to that as well, and still don’t want to do that to my guys again.”
Tagovailoa missed four games as a result of the concussion he sustained in that Week 2 game against the Buffalo Bills on a Thursday night at Hard Rock Stadium, with the Dolphins going 1-3 while he was on injured reserve.
HOW RIGHT IS TUA ABOUT HIS TAKE?
It’s undeniable the Dolphins offense suffered badly during Tagovailoa’s stint on injured reserve, which we have consistently stated is more an indictment on the organization failing to secure a better backup option than anything else.
For example, the Green Bay Packers won two games and their offense didn’t collapse when former Tennessee Titans draft bust Malik Willis had to take over for Jordan Love early in the season, and Washington Commanders backup Marcus Mariota put up big numbers in a start for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year candidate Jayden Daniels.
In other words, that the Dolphins offense would take a step back without Tagovailoa was normal and to be expected. That it would collapse the way it did with Skylar Thompson, Tim Boyle and Tyler “Snoop” Huntley taking turns at quarterback was unacceptable.
It also put the Dolphins in a tough spot because Tagovailoa returned with a team that suddenly was 2-4.
Tagovailoa has been very good since his return, putting up passer ratings of 114 or higher in four of his six starts, but the reality is the Dolphins are 3-3 in those six games and now 4-4 in games that Tagovailoa has started this season.
So where would the Dolphins be had Tagovailoa been more prudent in that Week 2 game against the Bills and avoided the contact with safety Damar Hamlin that put him on the shelf? Who knows?
It’s not a stretch to say they would have one or two more games, probably against the Tennessee Titans in Week 4 and the Indianapolis Colts in Week 7, but nobody knows for sure.
What is undeniable is the Dolphins were badly hurt by Tagovailoa’s absence. And, yes, he’s to blame for not being more careful and letting his competitive juices cloud his judgment on that fateful fourth-down scramble. But it’s the organization — and, to paraphrase Tua, maybe nobody will say it but me — that’s most to blame here for allowing itself to be so ill prepared to deal with a potential injury to a quarterback with a long history of injuries.
And whether it’s a failure to tweak the offense enough to suit the backup quarterbacks or simply not having somebody proficient enough — and there certainly were many good options at the start of free agency, including the aforementioned Mariota — more of the blame should be directed at Mike McDaniel and/or Chris Grier than Tua.