During the four games that quarterback Tua Tagovailoa spent on injured reserve because of a concussion, the Miami Dolphins offense scored three touchdowns and converted 11-of-50 third-down snaps into first downs.
During Tagovailoa’s return to the field on Sunday, the Miami offense scored three touchdowns and converted 11-of-15 third-down snaps into first downs.
But despite the instant improvement with the former Alabama All-American in the lineup for the first time since Sept. 12, the Dolphins still lost 28-27 when the Arizona Cardinals’ Chad Ryland kicked a 34-yard field goal on the final snap of the game.
“Tough loss today against a really good team,” Tagovailoa said. “That diminishes not just what I’ve done, but a lot of what other guys have done individually as well.”
Miami went 1-3 without Tagovailoa and now has a 2-5 overall record.
“There’s always time, brother,” Tagovailoa said. “Seventeen games, that’s a long time, a lot of games, so whether we’re counted out or we’re not, it doesn’t matter. We’re going to continue to play football. A lot of people in here know, I don’t know how many years ago, we started out 1-7. We didn’t have half the guys that we have – and no disrespect to my other teammates, but I’m talking about the talent that we have here. We didn’t have half that talent however many years ago. To give that group respect, we won the next eight games. I’m not saying we’re going to do that or whatnot, but it is possible.
“Anything’s possible, so we’re going to continue to trust each other, lean on each other, believe in each other, and we’re going to go do it next week.”
Tagovailoa completed 28-of-38 passes for 234 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions against Arizona.
“I would say I felt like myself,” Tagovailoa said. “I’ve been preparing for five weeks as if I were to play while I was on IR, so it felt normal coming out there.”
Tagovailoa also had three fumbles. The Cardinals didn’t recover any of them, but one, when the QB couldn’t handle the snap, went through the end zone for a safety with 6:15 left in the third quarter to cut Miami’s lead to 20-12.
“I got to catch the ball,” Tagovailoa said. “That’s it.”
In his first action in six weeks, Tagovailoa moved the Dolphins 64 yards in 10 plays for a touchdown on the game’s opening series. His first pass went to fullback Alec Ingold for a 16-yard gain on the second snap of the game.
Miami also scored a touchdown on its first possession of the second half with a six-play, 70-yard drive that ended with Tagovailoa’s 12-yard pass to running back De’Von Achane as the Dolphins took a 20-10 lead.
After the fumble-safety and an Arizona touchdown,
Miami moved 70 yards in nine plays for running back Raheem Mostert’s second touchdown of the game to put the Dolphins ahead 27-18 with 12:22 remaining to play.
“I though it’s kind of what I expected,” Miami coach Mike McDaniel said of Tagovailoa’s performance. “He did a real good job on third down. Collectively, the bigger thing was that we had a little bit more of our brand of football that we felt was probably a silver lining if we weren’t sitting at 2-5. …
“I thought it was good for his teammates. I think the team felt at times it was more of a picture of what we had envisioned the entire time of how we play football. But it wasn’t clean enough to win, and that’s the big takeaway for me.”
Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray completed 26-of-36 passes for 307 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. He rallied Arizona to 16 points on their final three possessions.
After Miami’s second punt of the game, Arizona got the football for the final time at its 11-yard line with 5:01 to play and used all that time to move into position for the winning field goal.
Tagovailoa ran three times for 13 yards. He ended a 13-yard scramble for a first down with a baseball slide, which drew a roar from the crowd.
“I thought that was super cool,” Tagovailoa said. “I think anyone would think that was awesome.”
The Dolphins play the Buffalo Bills at noon CST Sunday at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York. Tagovailoa suffered his concussion in the third quarter of Miami’s 31-10 loss to Buffalo in the second game of the season.
“We got to keep chopping wood,” Tagovialoa said. “Don’t look for any external motivation from anyone. Just look within. What can we do to get better, what can we do to encourage each other because that’s what it takes. It takes everyone inside that locker room if we want to get to where we want to go.”
