Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa had one of the strongest starts to the NFL season of any signal caller in the league. Prior to this three-game skid, it wouldn’t be outlandish to consider the former first-round pick to be the front-runner for the league’s MVP award.
However, after three losses, the chatter around Tagovailoa has fallen back to Earth. Instead of being discussed as one of the league’s top quarterbacks, some are wondering again whether or not he’s the future in South Florida.
Football Outsiders’ Aaron Schatz recently put together a list of all 32 starting quarterbacks (subscription required) in the NFL and took a look at weaknesses in their game. For Tagovailoa, it was his performance against a certain defensive look.
Here’s what Schatz wrote about Tagovailoa:
“The Miami passing game was so strong this year — until the past two games — that it’s hard to find a split where Tagovailoa really shows a weakness without dipping into smaller sample sizes. However, he has had an issue with Cover 4 “quarters” coverage this season. We’re talking about just 40 pass plays, but Tagovailoa’s 18.6 QBR against Cover 4 ranks 27th among starting quarterbacks. This looks like a small-sample fluke, especially when we consider that in 2021 — when his overall performance was nowhere near as good — Tagovailoa was one of the league’s best quarterbacks against Cover 4 with an 84.8 QBR.”
This is concerning for Miami’s quarterback. If he wants to be viewed as the long-term answer in Mike McDaniel’s offense, he’ll have to improve in this area and bring his team on a run in the postseason.