Another promising season ends early for the Miami Dolphins. Last year, the team followed up an 8-3 start with a five-game losing streak that nearly knocked them out of postseason contention. The Dolphins still made the playoffs but were unable to win a difficult Wild Card matchup against the Buffalo Bills.
This season, Miami was sitting pretty at 11-4. Wins in Weeks 17 and 18 would have given the team just its second AFC East title of the 21st century as well as the number-one seed in the AFC. Instead, Miami produced two of its worst performances of the year and ended not with a first-round bye, but a tough Wild Card matchup in Kansas City in a game where the windchill hit -30 degrees.
The Dolphins now have four straight seasons with a winning record and no playoff wins to show for it. In fact, with the Detroit Lions' Wild Card win on Sunday night, Miami now has the NFL's longest drought without a playoff win — 23 years.
The franchise faces some important decisions in the offseason, including what to do with star quarterback Tua Tagovailoa moving forward. Tagovailoa is entering the final year of his rookie deal and carries a $23 million cap hit — a $14 million increase over the 2023 season but still much cheaper than what a veteran star quarterback typically earns.
Do the Dolphins sign Tua to an extension now? Do they let him play out his deal and then negotiate? Do they decide to move on from him altogether? These are the tough choices the front office faces.
But regardless of Tua Tagovailoa's underperformance in key situations, the Dolphins must extend their franchise quarterback.
Postseason success will come
The knock on Tua has been his inability to perform well in big games. Yet Saturday's Wild Card game was his first playoff start. It came in subzero conditions and he got minimal help from the rest of the squad. The team rushed for just 76 yards — barely half of its regular season average — while the defense gave up 409 total yards. This was the third straight game that Miami gave up at least 400 total yards.
Not every quarterback can be like Tom Brady or Joe Burrow and experience immediate success in the playoffs. Hall-0f-Famer Dan Marino's career playoff record was 8-10. John Elway did not win a Super Bowl until his 15th season. Drew Brees did not win his first playoff game until his fifth year as a starter while it took Peyton Manning six years to get a postseason victory.
Tua has a career 32-19 record as a starter. The Dolphins were unlucky not to make the postseason in either of his first two seasons and he was injured for last year's playoff game. Before the lefty took over under center, the franchise had just two playoff appearances in its previous 18 seasons. Miami's back-to-back playoff appearances mark the first time since 2000 and 2001 that the team has achieved that feat. Improvement has already come, now the franchise must be patient as Tagovailoa continues to reverse 20-plus years of failure.
MVP-level performances
Last year, Tua Tagovailoa led the NFL in touchdown percentage, yards per completion, and passer rating. This season — with a full 17-game campaign under his belt — he was the league leader in passing yards. When it comes to the franchise single-season passing records, Tua only trails Dan Marino's best years in every major category.
Tagovailoa is easily a top-10 — if not top-five — quarterback in the NFL. Considering the 22 starting quarterbacks the franchise used before Tagovailoa since 2000, the upgrade to Tua is immeasurable.
Tagovailoa has already done better than any Dolphins quarterback in the last 20 years. If the front office decides to move on from him now, they might regret that decision for another two decades.
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