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After orchestrating a roller-coaster performance in the Miami Dolphins’ Week 7 home win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, Tua Tagovailoa got back on the right track in the road matchup against the Detroit Lions.
As was the case in the Dolphins’ comeback victory over the Baltimore Ravens earlier this season, Tagovailoa had to turn it up a notch with his play against the Lions. The NFC North side built a 14-point lead in the second quarter, but it did not stop the former Alabama Crimson Tide passer from putting together a keen showing.
Tagovailoa anchored five scoring drives in the contest, including three that culminated in a passing touchdown from him. His 11-yard touchdown pass to tight end Mike Gesicki in the late stages of the fourth quarter ended up being the game-winner for Miami in its 31-27 victory over Detroit.
After the game, Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel kept it simple with his evaluation of Tagovailoa’s outing in Week 8. For McDaniel, it is a “winning formula” for Miami when Tagovailoa can play as well as he did today.
“That’s a – if we can get that every week, that’s a winning formula,” McDaniel said during his post-game press conference. “That is tough to stop.”
Overall, there were multiple plays from Tagovailoa on the day that stood out to McDaniel.
“There was the touchdown to Mike Gesicki because that was the first time we’ve ever hit that route on that concept,” McDaniel said. “You rarely ever see it, and it’s something that was No. 4 in the progression that he progressed through very quickly.
“There was the first long throw on third down to Tyreek (Hill) where he knows that we’re going to be hot, they’re in (Cover 0), he buys as much time as he can in the pocket and then throws a ball that’s not easy to throw to a really fast guy. That one stood out. He had a lot of plays that I was very, very happy with. That was a game that we all know he’s capable of. … I didn’t see him press and make forced decisions. He took what was there and protected the ball while being aggressive.”
The Dolphins will now look ahead to a road contest against the Chicago Bears in Week 9.