Tua Tagovailoa’s Struggles to Reach New Low While Mike McDaniel Addresses Dolphins Players’ Only Meeting

“If one of us messes up, it can screw up the entire play, or it can get us out of our flow,” were the wise words from Tua Tagovailoa. However, he forgot to mention that the embarrassing Week 1 was on him. From every standard to evaluate a QB’s performance, he ended up as a disappointment. With a 66.8 QBI, he marked his career’s second-lowest stat. The lowest? 65.7 in his rookie year in 2020. Now, he and the Dolphins are preparing to host the New England Patriots, who have never been able to outscore Tagovailoa. But after Week 1, experts seem to have a different opinion. 

With 7-0, Tagovailoa holds the best career record against the Patriots. There have only been three other elite QBs in the league’s history to hold such an extended winning record against the Patriots. Dan Marino sits atop with an 11-game winning streak, followed by John Elway and Joe Namath with a 10-game winning streak, and then Tagovailoa with a seven-game streak. However, there’s a twist. He holds a 0-2 record against the Titans under head coach Mike Vrabel, whose allegiance now lies with New England. It’s a given that Tagovailoa will end one of these two records. If one asks Garrett Podell of CBS Sports, “The underdog Patriots will upset the host Dolphins.” Now, we are talking about a team that has “never beaten the Miami Dolphins with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa under center. Ever.” 

It all stemmed from the Dolphins’ Week 1. Not only did Tagovailoa struggle to connect with Tyreek Hill or the rest of the receiving corps, but also expected to miss starting offensive lineman Austin Jackson due to a toe injury. “That could mean another big week for new Patriots edge rusher Harold Landry III, who racked up two-and-a-half sacks of Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Geno Smith in Week 1—the most in a New England debut all time,” added Podell, painting another element to favour the Patriots, not the Dolphins. 

On the other hand, in New England, Podell believes the most valuable player in the game would be Drake Maye. Sure, the second-year QB has been observed “looking uneven at times,” but he’s coming off a game where he threw for a career-high 287 yards passing, completed 30 out of 46 pass attempts, along with a touchdown and an interception. 

Had his overthrow aimed at the league’s No. 1 Stefon Diggs not ended with an interception, their dynamic could have already made headlines. Nonetheless, Podell believes, “there’s a good chance that duo’s connection could be much improved after finally getting out there in a real game together.” The Patriots also had a keen eye on the Dolphins vs the Colts, taking notes on stopping Tagovailoa’s quick delivery. Vrabel plans to be aggressive, but by picking and choosing his spots, not throughout.  

However, it wasn’t just Tagovailoa who failed in Week 1; the entire Miami offense looked lost. Through three quarters, they couldn’t put a single score on the board; they concluded the night at 33-8. But looks like they too had the realisation. After the Players’ Only Meeting, head coach Mike McDaniel revealed that players had their dose of “motivation” through their conversation about the Colts’ loss. When asked if he asked for the takeaways of the meeting from his players, he replied, “I didn’t even ask what was going on in the meeting. Didn’t really care. I knew I would see how they responded in practice.”

Dolphins on costly Week 1 mistakes

The biggest concern about Tagovailoa’s performance in Week 1 was the turnovers. Cornerback Xavien Howard, who spent four years in Miami practicing with the quarterback, knew just the way to attack him when he stepped on the field in blue. As a result, the Pro Bowler QB recorded three turnovers—all on the Dolphins’ first four drives. In addition to that, he was sacked three times and threw two interceptions, along with 114 yards and the second-lowest passer rating of 51.7. 

“We need to have less of those with absolute certainty,” said head coach McDaniel, talking about the turnovers. “I think one of the top indicators of success or failure in this league is turnover differential, and if you’re minus-three, you’re probably not going to win.” Yet, he refused to blame the entirety of the turnovers on the quarterback, holding the whole team accountable. 

The Dolphins’ head coach believes the offense needs to play within the offensive scheme and position themselves at the right spot to make sure the turnover lapses don’t happen. His quarterback, Tagovailoa, also delivered a similar reason for the Week 1 demise, emphasizing the need for his teammates not to stray beyond the offensive schemes. Whether or not the offensive scheme issues are the real issue with the Dolphins will be better illustrated in the upcoming home game.