Does Dan Marino believe Tua can lead Dolphins to the Super Bowl?

Tagovailoa was NFL pace setter

Tagovailoa finished fifth in passer rating (101.1), tied for fifth in passing touchdowns (29) and second in yards per attempt (8.3) this season.

His 4,624 passing yards were the third-most in franchise history behind only Marino’s record breaking 5,084 passing yards in 1984 and his 4,746 yards in 1986. Tagovailoa threw 29 touchdown passes in the regular season, which was fifth-most in Dolphins history.

"He had the best statistical year of his career and the best in the league, I think," Marino said, referring to Tagovailoa leading the NFL in numerous statistical categories, which includes yards passed for in 2023. "You've just got to build on it. Not making excuses, but at the end of the year we were in some tough situations on the road and we had a lot of injuries and that all plays into it."

Injuries impacted season's close

Marino is referring to Miami playing the majority of the second half of the season without three of the starting interior offensive linemen - Isaiah Wynn, Connor Williams and Robert Hunt (who eventually returned from a hamstring injury) - and the fact all four of the team's top offensive weapons - Tyreek Hill (ankle), Jaylen Waddle (ankle), Raheem Mostert (ankle and knee), and De'Von Achane (ribs and turf toe) - were either sidelined, or limited by injuries in the season's final month.

The Dolphins were embarrassed in a 56-19 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in a game that decided which of those two teams would be the No. 1 seed in the AFC. They followed that dismal performance up by losing the AFC East division title to the Buffalo Bills in a 21-14 loss, which featured the offense failing to tie the game with 1:53 left on the clock in the fourth quarter.

And then in the first round of the playoffs, Miami lost 26-7 to the Kansas Chiefs, which will be facing the San Francisco 49ers in Sunday's Super Bowl. That game was played in one of the coldest in NFL history, and the weather was a factor in offensive playcalling.

Offense struggled in critical games

But Miami's struggles offensively during that three game stretch raised plenty doubts about whether Tagovailoa, who led the NFL's top ranked offense for the entire 2023 season and the second best scoring and red zone offense, has what it takes to lead his team to the final game.

"Sometimes you have to get in the right positions, and have the right people healthy to have a chance to get to the Super Bowl," said Marino, who was the last quarterback to led the Dolphins to the Super Bowl back in 1984, but never got close afterwards during his 17 year career.

The Dolphins front office will be challenged this offseason to rebuild last year's team, which produced a 11-6 record because of the cap constraints the franchise is under seeing as how Miami's $52 million over the projected salary cap, and has a number of roster holes to fill, and key starters like Christian Wilkins, Robert Hunt, Connor Williams and Andrew Van Ginkel to re-sign, or replace.

This offseason will reveal whether Miami can upgrade the talent put around Tagovailoa, giving him a chance to prove he can lead the franchise to its first playoff win since 2000, and hopefully more.