Dolphins Confirm Starting Quarterback Ahead of Falcons Matchup

The Atlanta Falcons are gearing up for their Week 8 matchup with the Miami Dolphins after a frustrating 20-10 loss at the hands of the San Francisco 49ers. Sunday’s game was a night of missed opportunities, and they will be eager to turn the page to next week. 

While the Falcons have had their fair share of moments that make fans want to pull their hair out, the Dolphins can comfortably say they have been worse off this season. They are a dismal 1-6 on the season, with their only win coming against the New York Jets. The most recent result saw them lose a 31-6 blowout to the Cleveland Browns. 

At the center of their issues are the struggles of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. The veteran threw three interceptions in the loss, and the Browns scored 21 points off of their four turnovers. He completed just 12-of-23 passes for 100 yards and fumbled three times, but losing none. This was the second-straight week that the sixth-year quarterback was picked off three times.

Tagovailoa was benched for rookie Quinn Ewers in the fourth quarter. The backup played a clean game down the stretch. 

“Everything is on the table, when you go to a game you fully know you have the capability to win and get handed a very, very humbling loss,” head coach Mike McDaniel said after the game. “There’s no if and or buts about it, guys need to be professionals and step up to the plate, and every person on our team, if you’re saying it’s me, it’s you. I told the team, that’s what I have to subscribe to and we will be diligent in our cleanup of this game and the opponent for next week, because you’re not just going to win games and our team, you know, we say we want to win games so we have to do the things necessary to win games. Until that happens, we will lose games.”

Despite saying “everything” is on the table, McDaneil confirmed that Tagovailoa would remain the starter ahead of their matchup with the Falcons.