Tagovailoa will remain starter in Miami
The Miami Dolphins have been one of the biggest surprises of the 2020 season. They came into the campaign with rather low expectations as they are a young squad that is still building towards the future. However, they were shockingly 6-3 heading into Sunday’s contest against the Denver Broncos with an opportunity to go level with the Buffalo Bills for first place in the AFC East.
Despite Denver having just three wins on the season prior to Miami’s visit, the Broncos came out strong and proved to be the superior team on the day. The Dolphins nearly mounted a fourth quarter comeback though after being down 20-10, but rookie quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was nowhere to be found.
Dolphins’ head coach Brian Flores explained after the game that he opted to go with 37-year-old Ryan Fitzpatrick in the fourth quarter and the decision had nothing to do with Tagovailoa suffering any kind of injury.
“Tua wasn’t injured. We just felt like it was the best move at that point of the game. We had to get in two-minute mode, and we felt like [Fitzpatrick] gave us the best chance to win the game, and we had an opportunity at the end to tie it,” Flores said, via ESPN.
The rookie will remain the team’s starter going forward, but the change was necessary as Tagovailoa was struggling throughout the three quarters he played. He passed for just 83 yards and a touchdown, but had a difficult time generating any offense against a motivated Broncos’ defense. Tagovailoa was sacked six times on the day which certainly didn’t help his cause either.
“My thoughts were whatever was going to be best for the team. When I was in, we couldn’t really get things going,” Tagovailoa said, via ESPN. “Coach felt like it was best to put Fitz in to give us a spark. When I heard that, it was really what’s best for the team. If we were to win with Fitz in there, the locker room would be different. Everyone would be a lot happier. It just sucks to lose.”
Even after coming into the game in the fourth quarter and nearly leading the Dolphins to victory, Fitzpatrick is not any illusions that he will be the starting quarterback going forward. The veteran has been in the league since 2005 and understands that he is not the future of the franchise.
“It’s very clear that this is Tua’s team. Tua is going to continue to get better and grow,” said Fitzpatrick following the game, via ESPN. “For me, my defined role is whatever the team needs out of me. … There’s no controversy. This is his team. He’s going to lead this team and continue to lead the team. We just got to pull in the right direction and get everybody to continue to get better.”
Miami drafted Tagovailoa with the fifth overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft and was given the chance to be the starting quarterback in week eight against the Los Angeles Rams. He has started all of Miami’s games since then.
The Dolphins now sit 6-4, one game back of the Bills for top spot in the division.
