There is a lot of pressure on Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa heading into the 2023 season. The Dolphins made moves in the offseason that should put them in a position to contend this season should things go well with their franchise quarterback.
The Dolphins were one of the best teams in the NFL with Tagovailoa healthy last season. The two documented head injuries that he suffered derailed things, but he still managed to lead the league in numerous stats including touchdown percentage, yards gained per pass attempt and quarterback rating.
Those numbers came despite him playing in only 13 games. He also finished ninth in the MVP voting, which speaks volumes about the impact that he is capable of having. If the Alabama product can stay healthy, Miami should be there until the very end.
However, there is one hurdle that Tagovailoa still has to overcome. While winning games aren’t solely on the quarterback, as it takes a complete team effort to come away victorious, the record falls upon the quarterback.
For Tagovailoa, he has struggled in this one stat; beating other good teams. As pointed out by Jason McIntrye during a recent appearance on The Herd w/ Colin Cowherd on FS1, the No. 5 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft has dominated against non-playoff teams.
In his first three seasons in the NFL, Tagovailoa is 16-4 against non-playoff teams. But, when facing off against playoff teams, he and the Dolphins are only 5-9. “All of the pressure in the world is on Tua… He’s the missing jenga piece to the puzzle,” said McIntyre.
Beating good teams isn’t an easy feat to accomplish. But, to make it to the end, you need to also beat the teams you are supposed to defeat and to this point, Tagovailoa has knocked that part of the equation out of the park.
A .800 win percentage in any regard in the NFL is extremely impressive. If he can work that record closer to the .500 mark against playoff teams this season, the Dolphins are going to make some noise.
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