Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has heard the constant chatter from critics questioning his abilities and his place as the Dolphins starting quarterback, but silenced them all on Sunday following an epic performance to spark a remarkable fourth quarter comeback on the road against the Baltimore Ravens.
Tagovailoa set career highs with 469 passing yards and six touchdowns, becoming the second quarterback in franchise history, alongside Dan Marino, to record at least 400 passing yards and five touchdowns in a single game.
The Dolphins entered halftime down 21 and headed into the 4th quarter down 35-14, but Tagovailoa’s play, particularly in the fourth where he completed 13 of 17 passes for 199 yards and four touchdowns, led Miami to the improbable win.
“It felt good. We were executing on all cylinders,” Tagovailoa said, according to ESPN’s Marcel Louis-Jacques. “And then there were times when we didn’t execute, and no one panicked. Everyone just came back into the huddle, and we regrouped, and we went back out there and tried to execute whatever play we were given.”
Additionally, for the first time since 2011, a team came back to win after trailing by at least 21 points in the fourth quarter. Teams were 0-711 in those scenarios prior to the Dolphins comeback win on Sunday.
Miami’s dynamic duo of Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle combined for 361 yards and four touchdowns becoming the first pair of teammates to each record at least 150 receiving yards and two touchdowns in a game since 1991.
“Man, I don’t have to say too much, man — all you got to do is look at his game film,” Hill said. “It’s Tua, and who he is and how consistent he is. You know that last drive we had, it really showed me who he is as a leader. You know, getting everybody inside of the huddle, telling guys, ‘Make sure you run the ball to the official or hand it to Connor [Williams].’ Just small things, you know, to save time. And, you know, be able for us to go down the field and make a play.”
“He [Tagovailoa] told us, ‘It’s either us or them right now,'” Waddle said. “That got me going, man.”
“Apparently they just took me way too literal,” Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel said. “They’re investing more than they ever have. They’re really all-in, and it was way disappointing. And so when you’re down, the tendency is to kind of hang your head. … I just challenged them to say, ‘Who cares what the score is?'”
“This is huge because he stopped worrying about the last play and he went and played and took his responsibility to his teammates seriously,” McDaniel said. “It is what you get into sports for. … I think it was a moment that he’ll never forget that hopefully he can use moving forward because … we basically had to play perfect complementary football to come back from a deficit like that against a really good team. Couldn’t be happier for him.”
