Tua Tagovailoa threw two interceptions in Week 10, but his head coach said that was kind of the plan entering the game. Sort of.
Mike McDaniel met with the media after the Miami Dolphins' big AFC East victory on Sunday that knocked the Bills two games behind the Patriots, and was asked about his quarterback's play. McDaniel said that he challenged his quarterback to play aggressively.
McDaniel told Tagovailoa to throw deep on those two third-down interceptions because if they got picked off, it would be as good as a punt.
Dolphins survive Tua Tagovailoa turnovers because Mike McDaniel planned for them
"I told Tua to let it rip down the field and let it act as a punt and even with that we ended up in the plus. "Mike McDaniel
The idea of asking a struggling quarterback to put the ball downfield against a good football team is a risky move. In both cases, the Dolphins quarterback put the ball into the hands of the defense; however, there were other passes that Tagovailoa threw downfield that didn't result in interceptions.
Miami played an aggressive game from the start on both sides of the ball, and as a result, they ended a seven-game skid against their division rivals. Now, they need to put it together to beat the Commanders next week. Suddenly, a team that looked out of the playoff chase has a new lease on the season by winning the one team they absolutely had to.
The fact that the Dolphins are still alive is a miracle. They have four winnable games in the next six, including the Saints, Jets, and Bengals, as well as the Commanders. If they can somehow beat the Steelers and Patriots, they might finish in the thick of the picture.
For now, it's a big win for a coach and a quarterback who desperately needed a victory against the Bills. Miami has been close, but they have been owned since Josh Allen became their starter. On Sunday, the Dolphins owned Josh Allen.
The three-quarter shutout by the defense was the first time they have done that against the Bills since 2003. If Tagovailoa is going to take risks, they should be calculated. In week 10, they were.