Tua Tagovailoa seems to have the late game heroics gene
In his nine games started, Tua Tagovailoa had two with fourth-quarter comebacks, and both had game-winning drives. The teams played were the Arizona Cardinals and the New England Patriots, during week 9 and week 15.
The Cards game was won 34 to 31, Tua was 20 of 28 completions for 248 yards and 2 touchdowns. The crunch time scoring was done with Mack Hollins on an 11-yard pass to tie the game and a Jason Sanders 50 yard field goal to put it ahead.
Other scoring production came by Shaq Lawson, with a 36-yard fumble return that he also forced out and another Jason Sanders field goal, this one a whopping 56 yards, former running back Jordan Howard ran one in from two yards out, and Preston Williams with a 9-yard passing score.
Jordan Howard found his way back to the Philadelphia Eagles and Shaq Lawson was traded to the Texans for Benardrick McKinney.
The Pats game was won 22 to 12, Tua was 20 of 26 completions for 145 yards, no passing touchdowns, and one interception. The crunch time scoring was done by Tua running one TD in from three yards out to go ahead at the start of the fourth, and Tua again running in for a yard late in the fourth to seal the game.
Another scoring production was done by running back Salvon Ahmed who had a one-yard rushing TD and also had a reception for a two-point conversion that capped off Tua’s running TD to open the fourth quarter.
The New England Patriots have loaded up on new players and it might be hard to repeat this late-season win.
Did you know that Tua Tagovailoa led the NFL in passer rating when the game is within one score in the 2nd half?
— Matt Infante (@MattyInfante) June 3, 2021
Tua was 41/51 for 410 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. His passer rating was 126.3. His successful play rate was also the best in the NFL -- 67%.
The top five receivers, according to Infante, are DeVante Parker, Mike Gesicki, Jakeem Grant, Lynn Bowden, Jr., and Durham Smythe. You may have noticed one missing, Preston Williams. This is because after the Cards game he would go on injured reserve. He played well that game having the longest reception of 35 yards. Because of his absence, everyone gets moved down a notch.
So in effect, Tua has this stat also having to use lower string players.
Just like the Pats mentioned above, the Miami Dolphins also have loaded up with more players, Jaylen Waddle and Will Fuller, most notably.
This might just be an interesting tidbit because, to be honest, I don’t put much homage into this particular stat. There were others that swore by it and knocked the last QB over it, who is now on the Titans. Rich Hribar of Sharp Football is also responsible as a source for these statistics.