So that is the way it ended for the Miami Dolphins amid all of the noise of Baltimore, that is the way it ended in the course of their huddle with 14 seconds left and seven yards nonetheless to go in one of many best wins they’ve had in years.
“It’s us and them right now,” quarterback Tua Tagovailoa instructed his offense.
No crowd. No noise. Just us and them. Receiver Jaylen Waddle later talked of that second with the offense listening and Tua talking with a hearth that, as he mentioned, “fired me up,” he mentioned.
But these phrases didn’t put a smile on Tua’s Mona Lisa. That got here with the following play, his final move, the one which snuck by a Ravens defender, got here down in Waddle’s fingers ultimately zone and despatched the Dolphins not simply to a 42-38 win or a 2-0 document however presumably, simply presumably, into the form of future they’ve solely talked about for the final couple of a long time.
You might dream that tough, when you needed, after a day like this, a quarterback efficiency like this and coach Mike McDaniel was doing simply that. Tua had been magic in rallying the Dolphins from 21 factors down within the fourth quarter in a manner he hadn’t been as a Dolphin — a way no Dolphins quarterback had been, to be honest, since Dan Marino. Six touchdowns and 469 yards passing?
“It’s what you get into sports for,” McDaniel mentioned. “It’s as good for the coaching staff and him that it was coming to life. I think it was a moment that he will never forget, that hopefully he can use moving forward.”
If this magic was the start of one thing, it was wanted Sunday as a result of Lamar Jackson was making historical past on the opposite aspect for Baltimore. This solely framed Tua’s heroics extra. Jackson turned the primary quarterback to throw and run for touchdowns of no less than 75 yards in the identical sport. He threw three touchdowns and had an ideal quarterback score within the first half.
“Oh-my-gosh, yes,” Tua mentioned later when requested if he observed what Jackson was doing. “Oh my goodness, of course. I mean, how can you not watch someone like that?”
Tua was nonetheless in his uniform, grass stains down the aspect, as he talked of the day in a quiet and composed method. He had a marginal first half, a landing and two interceptions. The Dolphins had been down 28-7 then within the form of day that’s outline this franchise for the previous twenty years.
Still down 21 factors to begin the fourth quarter, Tua got here to life within the method McDaniel mentioned. He threw two landing passes — the second a 48-yarder to Tyreek Hill — to drag the Dolphins inside seven factors.
He then got here to the road with simply over 5 minutes left and noticed Baltimore had no safeties deep. Hill noticed it, too.
“I went ‘eeeee,’ ” Hill mentioned afterward, making a shrill cry of a dolphin within the water that serves as some form of warning sign to his quarterback
Tua didn’t want a sign. He noticed Hill run free and clear and put a 60-yard landing move in his arms for the tying landing.
The script wasn’t carried out. Baltimore took the lead on Justin Tucker’s 51-yard discipline aim. So Tagovailoa was requested not simply to slay a record-breaking quarterback however the sport’s all-time prime kicker. He did, too, proper to these phrases within the huddle and that move to Waddle.
Only two quarterbacks in Dolphins historical past threw for six touchdowns in a sport. Hall of Famers Dan Marino and Bob Griese every did it as soon as.
“Now, maybe Tua will listen to me,” McDaniel mentioned. “What I imply by that’s, and I’ve mentioned this to you guys earlier than, It’s superior to be crucial of your self. That’s good. He has a excessive commonplace for himself. But after the primary sport, I simply needed to see the man get pleasure from taking part in soccer and perceive that, sure, we wish to make the proper learn and the proper throw each time.
But, who cares when you simply get higher at one factor. You’re going to be fairly good on the finish of the season, let’s simply press ahead.”
McDaniel needed him to have enjoyable. You don’t hear that a lot from a NFL coach about his quarterback. What you noticed Sunday was much more uncommon across the Dolphins lately. The quarterback created all of the enjoyable proper to the ultimate huddle the place he mentioned it was us-versus-them after which made the move to resolve all of it.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com