Tua Tagovailoa was in his second season when the Miami Dolphins began their 2021 season with a 1-7 record. After that rough start, they went on a seven-game winning streak and finished with a 9-8 record.
Tagovailoa is hoping to help the Dolphins recover from a similar disappointing start this year. They are currently 2-5 after losing 28-27 to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, putting their chances for the playoffs at risk.
“No disrespect to my other teammates (from 2021), but I’m talking about the talent that we have here (now),” Tagovailoa said. “We didn’t have half that talent however many years ago. So to give that group respect, we won the next (seven) games — and I’m not saying we’re going to do that or whatnot — but it is possible.”
Coach Mike McDaniel expressed that it was “disappointing and frustrating” that the Dolphins improved significantly on offense but couldn’t secure the win against the Cardinals. Tagovailoa led Miami to its highest-scoring game of the season in his return from a concussion, but the team lost a 10-point lead for the second week in a row.
The loss felt even bigger because the Dolphins went 1-3 while Tagovailoa was on injured reserve with a concussion, according to McDaniel.
Looking past the issues caused by backup quarterbacks Tyler Huntley, Tim Boyle, and Skylar Thompson, the Dolphins have been careless at times. They have faced problems with holding penalties and illegal formations in their recent games.
On Sunday, only two penalties were called against the Dolphins, but a snap went over Tagovailoa’s head in the third quarter, leading to a safety. McDaniel mentioned that this mistake ended up being the deciding factor in the game.
“I think it’s like dying from a thousand little cuts right now,” fullback Alec Ingold said. “In the past, we were able to get through many tough situations, but that hasn’t happened this season.”
Ingold feels hopeful that it’s not too late for Miami to improve its season, even with a game against the top-ranked Bills in Buffalo this weekend.
The Dolphins have had trouble in recent years against mobile quarterbacks like Buffalo’s Josh Allen, who threw four touchdown passes and ran for another score against Miami at Highmark Stadium last season.
“We just have to do a better job with our angles. Our angles were off when we were chasing (Kyler Murray),” linebacker Emmanuel Ogbah said. “We have another mobile quarterback coming up. We need to make an impact on Josh.”
