Tua Tagovailoa gets his first chance against the New York Jets

The mark of a great quarterback is putting a bad loss behind you so Tua Tagovailoa needs to move on.

This week, the Miami Dolphins will travel to an empty Metlife Stadium as Tua Tagovailoa tries to get back on the winning track.

Playing the New York Jets is never easy and they would love nothing more than to knock around the Dolphins and get their first win of the season. Doing it against Miami’s young rookie QB would be even more fitting for a team looking to be all in for Trevor Lawerence.

Miami has their quarterback, or at least they hope so. The Jets are mired in the sesspool of the NFL’s lowest teams, a place the Dolphins know well enough over the years. Tagovailoa is going to face another defensive front hell bent on making his life miserable and honestly, I’m not so sure I believe Chan Gailey will open the offense to counter it but instead call a more conservative game.

The Dolphins need to let Tua play like he can. That means giving him more of the playbook and letting him learn as he goes. He can’t learn with a handcuff and while his game last week wasn’t very good, it isn’t like Chan Gailey opened the offense up to suit him. This was evident when the play calling changed the minute Ryan Fitzpatrick took over on the final drive.

If Tua is going to play, then they need to give him the best chance of winning, not coddling him to keep him protected. That time has passed.

Miami needs to win the next two. New York this week and the Bengals the following week who will now roll out Ryan Finley at QB. The last four games of the season are going to be tough and getting back on a win streak will surely help.