The Miami Dolphins aim to earn their first win of the season in the “Thursday Night Football” game against the Buffalo Bills. With the team surrounded by doubt, it appears quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is channeling his inner Don Shula ahead of the contest to turn things around.

Tagovailoa, who is 27 years old, arrived at Highmark Stadium wearing an old-school Dolphins jacket similar to what the legendary head coach used to wear on the sidelines. The sixth-year pro looked locked in as he entered the locker room to get ready for the game.

Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network shared an image of Shula on X, formerly known as Twitter, to show the comparison between Tua Tagovailoa and Don Shula. Tagovailoa even has the white undershirt to match.

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If the Dolphins hope to get back on track, channeling Shula might be a good idea. During his tenure as head coach from 1970 to 1995, the Hall of Fame head coach led Miami to five Super Bowl appearances, winning two of them. Don Shula is also famously known for being the head coach of the 1972 Dolphins, who are the only team to go undefeated and win a championship in a single season.

Getting some of that Shula magic would be a tremendous gift for the organization now. Things have looked bleak with speculation about Mike McDaniel's job security as head coach. Week 1 was a disaster, as the Dolphins suffered a brutal 33-8 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. Then in Week 2, everything fell apart in the closing moments, which led to a 33-27 loss to the New England Patriots.

Through two games so far, Tua Tagovailoa has recorded 429 passing yards, three touchdowns, and three interceptions while owning a 72.7% completion percentage. Although his completion percentage is on par with his performance from last season, the turnovers have largely hurt the Dolphins' offense to begin the 2025-26 campaign.