The Miami Dolphins boast a 7-3 record, and that’s good enough for the second-best record in the entire AFC Conference. Led by third-year quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who hasn’t lost when he starts and finishes a game this season (7-0), Miami finds itself atop the AFC East division for the first time in a long time.
In fact, Tagovailoa’s play has been so good Dolphins fans began chanting “MVP” at the end of Sunday’s home blowout win over the hapless Cleveland Browns. Tua went 25 of 32 for 285 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions. His 78 percent completion percentage was the highest for any quarterback this season that’s attempted at least 30 passes.
Here’s what Tua had to say about hearing the entire Hard Rock Stadium chanting MVP.
“There’s no doubt I heard that. I could hear that when it was a TV timeout, when we were walking back into the tunnel. You know, it’s flattering. But what we came to do and what we came to accomplish, it’s not accomplished yet. So it would be cool, but we have bigger goals and aspirations on what we want to do as a team.”
Let's look #InsideTheNumbers from our big home WIN before the bye week! 📊
– The Dolphins have scored 30+ points in 3 straight games
– @cwilkins42 led the way with 2.5 sacks and 7 tackles
– Best 10-game start since 2001— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) November 15, 2022
While Tua is humbled by the outpouring of love, he’s also letting it be known that the Fins are in big goal mode and individual awards and accolades won’t supersede that.
Much-Maligned Tua Has A Great Record As A Starter
Since his arrival in South Beach, Tagovailoa has been unfairly criticized, and the quick ascension of Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert has played a part in that. The strong-armed Herbert was taken one pick after Tua in the 2020 NFL draft, and talent-wise he’s the more gifted and physically imposing prospect. But Tua boasts a 22-9 record as a starter despite very limited weaponry on the offensive side of the football until this season. Herbert, who has been anointed as the next big-time air raider, is 20-21 as a starter with much more talent at his disposal up to this point in their careers.
That’s our QB! #FinsUp pic.twitter.com/oIvKsy9SQR
— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) November 15, 2022
This past offseason the Fins added the league’s most dynamic deep threat in speedster Tyreek Hill via trade and teamed him with 2021 first-round pick Jaylen Waddle to form the scariest wide receiver duo in the NFL. And thus far it’s paid huge dividends for Tagovailoa, who’s thriving in first-year head coach Mike McDaniel’s offense.
The former Alabama star has passed for 2,265 yards, 18 touchdowns and just three interceptions. His 118.4 QB rating is off the charts, and his accuracy might be the best in the league, as Hill constantly stated during the offseason.
Tagovailoa Has Overcome Scary Concussion Situation To Star For Fins
In the team’s Week 4 win over the Bills, Tagovailoa was slammed to the ground, hitting his head. While many speculated that the lefty gunslinger possibly had a concussion, he passed concussion protocol and the team deemed it a back injury. Four days later in a game at Cincinnati, he was sacked and hit his head on the turf at Paul Brown Stadium. His body went into some sort of seizure-like shock. He’d miss the next couple game before returning like he never left.
Tua Tagovailoa just had a seizure after being thrown down to the ground hitting his head hard pic.twitter.com/f7uA1zJgjv
— Crazy Videos (@CrazyVideosXXX) September 30, 2022
While Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes is the currently the front-runner for league MVP, Tagovailoa has definitely impacted his team and is a strong candidate for the award.
