Tua Tagovailoa stood by the locker room door with a smile and handshake as his Miami Dolphins teammates got here off the sector. This was late Sunday afternoon, and this was their season’s second, a purpose all of them chased, and the emotional cocktail of constructing the playoffs was evident.
Coach Mike McDaniel awarded sport balls to each participant after beating the New York Jets, 11-6. A bunch of defensive backs did a sequence of handshakes and celebratory whoops. Receiver Tyreek Hill acquired out his telephone and tweeted, “Wasn’t pretty but we will take it.”
Tagovailoa stood there, taking all of it in, his teammates later mentioned, and in so doing was an emblem for the odd emotions of this we’ll-take-it Sunday. He was gone when the doorways open and the media got here however, already, the questions have been forming for the approaching playoff sport in Buffalo subsequent weekend.
“We have a lot of question marks,” McDaniel mentioned of his workforce’s quarterback state of affairs.
Namely, may Tagovailoa return from a second recognized concussion and third incident of head trauma this season? Does anybody assume the Dolphins have a snowball’s likelihood in Buffalo with out Tagovailoa at quarterback?
And the biggie: What ought to this franchise do that offseason if the franchise quarterback can’t be counted on to play within the largest video games?
They’ll have to seek out him legitimate competitors. They can’t be on this place once more. No one’s pretending the Dolphins didn’t stagger into the playoffs even with Tagovailoa for a lot of the end. They needed to be as relieved about avoiding a sixth consecutive loss Sunday as they have been blissful about claiming the seventh and remaining AFC playoff seed.
Here’s how they gained Sunday: three subject targets by Jason Sanders, together with the game-winner with 18 seconds left; a protection that assured the Jets didn’t rating a landing for his or her third consecutive sport; and 162 yards speeding from an offense led by rookie quarterback Skylar Thompson.
Thompson made simply sufficient performs, right here and there, for this offense to maneuver shut sufficient for subject targets. His largest stat wasn’t finishing 20-of-31 passes for 152 yards. It was throwing no interceptions. It was not making the massive mistake that’s outlined too many Dolphins Sundays of late.
That form of quarterback play can beat the Jets. It can’t win in Buffalo when Bills star quarterback Josh Allen begins piling up the factors.
“Very, very happy about the defense,” McDaniel mentioned. “Very happy about the offense. Shoot, I think we’ve gone — how many tackles have we played?”
They misplaced one other, Brandon Snell, on Sunday.
“I feel like it’s seven,” he mentioned.
Free-agent purchase Terron Armstead didn’t play once more Sunday because of a mixture of accidents he’s fought by means of a lot of the season. That’s no shock, contemplating he’s missed a mean of 5 video games in his 9 earlier years.
Tagovailoa, too, got here with damage questions because of his dimension and lack of pace. You noticed the expertise he has in November when all of the elements and safety are excellent round him. You additionally noticed him take three hits the place his head was slammed to the bottom in public scenes that made him the poster youngster for NFL concussions.
That’s what’s led to the loud debate round him. Not some basic dislike of him or the Dolphins, as some have framed it. He wobbled off the sector in opposition to Buffalo early within the season, needed to be taken off on a stretcher in opposition to Cincinnati after which performed with a concussion two weeks in the past in opposition to Green Bay that wasn’t recognized till the next day.
“We’ll continue to take it day by day and I will not even think about any sort of game, whether that’s this year or next year, until he’s fully ready to do so, and that comes with medical clearance,” McDaniel mentioned. “That’s why the process is in place. Haven’t even thought of that.
“We have to get through the training room first.”
That’s not simply the place the playoffs stand. It’s the place the total franchise does. McDaniel’s large job, proper after making the playoffs, was determining precisely what they’ve at quarterback in Tagovailoa.
He’s succeeded on each counts. They squeaked into the playoffs. They additionally discovered about Tagovailoa, who can play nicely however be the form of well being query that makes everybody ask if he can play in Buffalo subsequent weekend — or if he even ought to.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com