Tua Tagovailoa takes benching in stride, concerned only with 'what's best for the team'

Tua Tagovailoa had his worst game as a Miami Dolphin on Sunday, to the point where Brian Flores chose to bench the rookie to give veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick a chance to mount a comeback in the loss to the Denver Broncos. Tagovailoa appears to be taking the benching in stride, as he made it clear that the only thing he is concerned about is what gives Miami the best opportunity to win, whether that means he is under center or sitting on the sidelines.

"My thoughts were whatever was going to be best for the team," Tagovailoa said. "When I was in, we couldn’t really get things going and Coach felt like it was the best decision to put Fitz in to give us a spark. When I heard that — it’s really what’s best for the team. If we were to win with Fitz in there, the locker room would be a lot different and everyone would be a lot happier. It just sucks to lose."

Tagovailoa's self-assessment is spot-on, as he was unable to give the Dolphins' offense any sort of spark, barely completing half of his passes while throwing for under 100 yards into the fourth quarter. The lack of offense gave Denver plenty of opportunities to score, and so they were able to create a lead that Miami could not overcome, despite Fitzpatrick's best efforts.

The good news for Tagovailoa is that despite his poor performance, he does not seem to be in any real danger of losing his job as the Dolphins' starting quarterback. After the game, Flores said that the rookie will still be the starter for the team's Week 12 matchup against the New York Jets and Fitzpatrick acknowledged that it is "very clear that this is Tua's team."