Tua Tagovailoa shows a lot of rust after 3 game absence

The Miami Dolphins got their starting quarterback, back, on Sunday night and after an impressive opening drive, he showed the rust many expected.

Sunday night marked Tua’s first game since taking a devastating body slam that sent him to the hospital in week four. Despite having a week to get ready after clearing concussion protocols, there was naturally some rust he needs to shake off.

Tua missed quite a few throws during his return and also threw four passes that should have been intercepted or at least could have been. He also missed deep on a pass to Tyreek Hill by about a yard. Something that should be easy to fix this week.

His night ended with 261 yards passing on 21/35 passes thrown and one touchdown. After the first drive, however, he seemed out of sync with his receivers amid a decent amount but avoidable pressure.

Early in the game, Tua scrambled for a first down, lowering his head to take on a tackler. It felt like a proverbial “screw you” message to the NFL. He repeated it later before likely being admonished on the sideline because he slid on his next run.

Miami has yet to win a game this year when Tua has not finished. He finished on Sunday night but it was clear he has work to do in order to get back up to speed and repair his timing with the receivers.

While the game was far too close for the Dolphins faithful, getting Tua back on the field was important. The Hard Rock crowd showed their support with chants of Tua, Tua, Tua, and the stadium rocked when he was announced before kick off.

Next week, the Dolphins and Tua will take on the Detroit Lions in another game that Miami needs to win in order to keep pace in the AFC and the AFC East.