The Miami Dolphins' season isn't over, technically, but there is little hope that they can turn it around and earn some respect.
On Sunday, Tua Tagovailoa once again held the game in his hands. He drove down the field late in the fourth quarter and led the Dolphins on a score-changing drive. It wouldn't last, and when Miami needed him to do it again, he couldn't.
At some point, this season will be too far out of reach for anyone to say there is still time, and that is when the Dolphins have to turn to rookie Quinn Ewers...if not sooner.
Quinn Ewers may not be sitting on the Dolphins' sidelines for too much longer
Dolphins fans are over the Tagovailoa experiment. He lacks the drive and leadership to carry the team. We all have seen what Zach Wilson can do at this level as well. What we don't know is what Ewers can bring to the table and what he can grow into.
Miami has issues on both sides of the ball, and it is becoming increasingly evident that, at the very least, Mike McDaniel will likely not return in 2026. It is also becoming clear that Tagovailoa won't last beyond next season. So why leave Ewers sitting out?
This isn't about winning. The Dolphins won't win with him behind center any more than the other two. What he needs is real NFL game experience without the pressure to win. The Dolphins are not inching their way toward that happening; they are hurtling toward it like a 150 miles-per-hour hurricane.
Ewers can provide tape for the next head coach. Perhaps he excels and proves he can be another Brock Purdy-type. Maybe he proves he can be more than capable of serving as the long-term backup to a quarterback likely to be drafted early in Round 1 next April.
Fans wanting change may get what they desire. It won't be next week or the week after, but it is coming, and when it does, Dolphins fans will get behind him like they did when Tagovailoa arrived, just with a lot less stress and concern.
What the Dolphins and their fans can't do is get hung up on the performance when he does play. It won't be pretty at first. In preseason, he looked bad in the first game, then cleaned it up.
If Ewers gets a chance to play, he will get an opportunity to earn the respect and trust of his teammates. That time may come sooner than expected.