The Miami Dolphins and Tua Tagovailoa are starting to turn the heads of the national media. But with that happening, will more Dolphins fans start to turn theirs as well?
On FanDuel TV's "Up & Adams" show, host Kay Adams called Miami's recent win over the Las Vegas Raiders "a thing of beauty," given their scoring drives and zero punts. Adams also pointed out that the Dolphins are only 1.5 games out of the final wild-card spot in the AFC, and they only play two teams down the stretch with a winning record, the Green Bay Packers and Houston Texans.
Adams is right in her immediate assessment. Miami has looked fantastic the last three weeks, and many believe, including Fox Sports' Colin Cowherd, a known anti-Tua media personality, that the Dolphins should have beat the Buffalo Bills in Week 9. Miami played a near-flawless game offensively in Buffalo.
Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa playing better since return
Tagovailoa is looking good, and he had his first three-touchdown performance of the season in the win over the Raiders, something Adams pointed out as well. He will need to keep that up week to week as the Dolphins' margin for error is, at best, one game.
Miami will host the New England Patriots on Sunday. This is not the same Patriots team the Dolphins narrowly beat back in Week 5, but Miami is not the same team either.
Drake Maye is the starting quarterback for New England now, and he has looked good as a rookie. Miami did not have Tagovailoa available at the helm during the last meeting with the Patriots, and that, too, makes a difference.
This will be the first-ever meeting between Tagovailoa and Maye and the first time the Dolphins quarterback has faced a Bill Belichick-less Patriots team.
Miami does not seem to be a team overlooking their opponents anymore, and as many in the media are starting to point out, they are playing some of the best football in the NFL.