The Miami Dolphins have been rough to watch this season, and somehow, they’re getting worse every week. Week 7 proved to be rock bottom when head coach Mike McDaniel benched Tua Tagovailoa for rookie QB Quinn Ewers. And the result? The Dolphins lost the game 31-6 to the Cleveland Browns. As for Tagovailoa, he kept his reaction to the benching as diplomatic as possible.

“Head bosses’ decision. He (McDaniel) made that decision,” the QB said after the game. The Week 7 loss to the Browns marked Miami’s third straight defeat, and their sixth overall this season. It’s also their second-biggest loss after that brutal 33-8 beatdown by the Indianapolis Colts in Week 1.

And right at the center of these struggles is the team’s quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa. His three interceptions for the second time in the last couple of weeks led to his benching. At the time of his benching in favor of Ewers, Tua completed just 12 of 23 passes for 100 yards before McDaniel benched him in the fourth quarter.

Tua has now thrown 10 interceptions so far. After the game, the QB himself admitted that he hadn’t been playing well this season.

“Definitely not happy, not proud of where I’m at with my play, with how I’ve gone about things this year. I know I’ve gotta be a lot better — and I’ve been better for the Miami Dolphins in years past. But this isn’t years past, this is this year,” the sixth-year quarterback said.

The Dolphins were already trailing 31-6 when Ewers took over. They had named the seventh-round pick of the most recent draft the QB2 ahead of the Browns game. The rookie finished the game with 53 yards on 5-of-8 passing. While it’s still unclear whether McDaniel would go ahead with Ewers as his QB1 in Week 8, the HC had already admitted that everything’s on the table.

Tua Tagovailoa wasn’t just good enough against the Browns

The Dolphins actually out-gained the Browns in total yards (219 to 206), but that didn’t really translate to points, as their struggles persist. They only managed a couple of field goals the whole game. On top of that, Tua Tagovailoa was sacked two times, the offense went just 1-for-13 on third downs, and the team racked up 11 penalties for 103 yards.

After the game, Mike McDaniel admitted Tua didn’t play well and the team will review the tape and might change their approach in future games. “Before watching the tape, I don’t want to over-conclude anything. But, you turn the ball over, it’s the No. 1 indicator of wins and losses, and it negatively affects the team,” the HC said.

“There are multiple factors in those turnovers, but I know at least one to two of them were extremely preventable from Tua, and he knows that. He just wasn’t good enough, so we’ll watch the tape and change our style of play if we have to. Everything’s on the table when you go to a game, you fully know that you have the capability to win and get handed a very, very humbling loss.”

The sixth-year QB signed a four-year, $212 million contract extension back in 2024, making him the sixth-highest-paid quarterback in the league. But Tua is struggling to live up to those numbers. And to make matters worse, McDaniel’s coaching seat is already starting to feel the heat.