Tua Tagovailoa is one of only 7 QBs to accomplish this rare record

Tua Tagovailoa is in elite company.
AFC Wild Card Playoffs - Miami Dolphins v Kansas City Chiefs
AFC Wild Card Playoffs - Miami Dolphins v Kansas City Chiefs / Jamie Squire/GettyImages
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In 2023, Tua Tagovailoa was enjoying his best season as a pro. He played in all 17 games and led the team into the playoffs. He also achieved an incredibly rare feat that only six other quarterbacks have ever accomplished.

According to Tony Holzman-Escareno of NFL Research, he found that Tagovailoa became only the seventh player in NFL history to lead the league in passing yards, yards per attempt, and passer rating, all in the same season. The others to do so include a former Miami Dolphins Hall of Famer - Dan Marino. In fact, of the players who have accomplished this, three are in the Hall of Fame, two will be in the Hall of Fame, and the other will get HOF consideration.

Tagovailoa is joined by Hall of Fame members Marino, Peyton Manning, Kurt Warner, future Hall of Famers Tom Brady and Drew Brees, and another candidate, Phillip Rivers. It's an impressive accomplishment for a quarterback who is consistently dogged by the media and, at times, his team's own fanbase.

Tua Tagovailoa joined some elite company with his stellar 2023 season

Despite his statistical achievements last season, Tagovailoa is not getting the respect of his own general manager. Chris Grier continues to play hardball with his QB regarding a contract extension that seems to be going nowhere. Tagovailoa continues to want "market" money, which would put him in the $55 million per season range, while the Dolphins, per some reports, want to stay much closer to $50 million.

Regardless, if the signal-caller can continue to post these types of numbers in the future, he may very well solidify a potential Hall of Fame career himself. Clearly, four years is too early to anoint anything, but he has the team to build a nice resume. The question is, can he consistently do it for another 10 or more years?

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