MIAMI (AP) – The Miami Dolphins need a good game on Sunday to make sure they continue to play and this is especially true for Tua Tagovailoa.
With another flaw, the debutant defender could watch the last minutes on the sidelines again, while Miami tries to get a bar in the playoffs at Buffalo.
Coach Brian Flores beat Tagovailoa twice in the fourth quarter, including last week in Las Vegas, when reserve defender Ryan Fitzpatrick saved Miami, overcoming a pair of late deficits.
“The wait for me is very high,” Tagovailoa said on Wednesday. “Obviously I didn’t play that standard last week.”
FitzMagic kept the Dolphins (10-5) in control of their chances of entering Sunday’s regular season finale against Bills. It also fueled the debate among the defenders on Monday morning about who should be the defender on Sunday afternoon in Miami.
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Flores was bold all year in deciding the issue. He promoted Tagovailoa to 1st place before Game 7, even though Miami had a two-game winning streak and Fitzpatrick played well.
Flores also expressed a desire to give Tagovailoa the hook, despite the risk that it could shake the confidence of a 22-year-old man recruited as a potential franchise defender.
“I have a lot of peace with the decisions that I and I make because it is honestly, genuinely and genuinely based on winning games,” Flores said.
Tagovailoa is 6-2, and Flores said the rookie will head to Buffalo again and give Miami the best chance to win.
There is no sign that the insecure defender’s situation has divided the team, partly because Tagovailoa and Fitzpatrick, 38, are locker room-model citizens who have developed a close relationship.
This was evident late in the Raiders game, when Fitzpatrick threw a touchdown pass to put the Dolphins ahead and was greeted along the sideline by Tagovailoa with a celebratory swell.
There was a lot to celebrate: despite the QB’s revolving door, the Dolphins are on track to reach 400 points for the first time since 1986 and are on the verge of only finishing third in the 2001 playoffs.
Accredit both Tagovailoa and Fitzpatrick because a two-quarterback system worked.
“The only people who should really be affected are Fitz and Tua,” said Mike Gesicki. “She is OK. You always see Fitz helping Tua, Tua supporting Fitz. They did a great job with that and they just understand each other’s roles. “
Tagovailoa’s role was as game manager and he did it well, avoiding mistakes and letting the Dolphins’ dominant defense make game-changing pieces. Fitzpatrick’s role was to free and assemble the troops.
The statistics reflect contrasting styles. Remarkably for a rookie, Tagovailoa has the lowest NFL interception rate, with two in 232 passes.
“This is a good place to start from the defensive position,” Flores said.
Fitzpatrick ranks 32nd in the interception rate. But he is 14th, averaging 11.4 yards per finish, while Tagovailoa ranks 34th at 9.6.
The biggest gain of the year Tagovailoa was 35 meters. About 52 NFL players threw a longer finish, including three receivers.
“Pushing the ball down – I have to do a better job with that,” he said.
Offensive coordinator Chan Gailey said it was wrong to blame Tagovailoa for the dink-and-dump approach in Miami.
“We were a team that tried to have speeds of nine, 10, 11, 12 games, to play football, to play the action, to control the time on the clock,” Gailey said. “That’s the situation I found with Tua in the ball game.”
In the last two weeks, Tagovailoa threw for only 145 and 94 meters. Such modest productivity boosts speculation: The Dolphins will recruit a quarterback in the first round again in April, when they could pick up to 3rd place because they hold the Houston national team.
For now, Flores will stay with Tagovailoa, although that could change in the second half on Sunday.
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