There are two different Tua Tagovailoas on the Miami Dolphins roster. There is the guy who can't get out of his own head, and the one who beat the brakes off the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.
After the game that sent a huge Bill's crowd home in tears from Hard Rock Stadium, Tagovailoa stood at the podium to talk about one of his biggest wins of his career. Yes, beating the Bills is a big deal. Despite throwing two interceptions, Tagovailoa made it clear why he played the way he did.
"Doing more is not what is going to make me better, just do what I need to do and play calm," Tagovailoa said.
Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa finally admits that he is own worst enemy on a football field
Dolphins fans have been saying for years that Tagovailoa is at his worst when he tries too hard to make things happen. He isn't built like that. Not many quarterbacks are. Too many things need to work in his favor for him to be marginally good when under pressure to win.
It isn't disrespectful to say that Tagovailoa isn't a consistently good quarterback. He isn't good most of the time. Some flashes drop out of the sky and burn out before they hit the ground. Like the fireworks that come out of nowhere, so do his good games.
Week 10 was a good game for Tagovailoa; it wasn't great, but it was definitely good. His two interceptions can be blamed on Mike McDaniel, who told him to rip it deep on those third downs.
What Tagovailoa realized, however, is that he tries too hard to overcome those things he doesn't do well. He isn't mobile, so why run the ball? He can't throw consistently deep, so why force it? He can't make more than two reads in a single dropback, so why push the envelope?
Tagovailoa does try too much, and when he does, he tends to fail. We saw this against the Ravens last Thursday. When the Dolphins needed him to come through, he couldn't handle the pressure he was shouldering.
Like most quarterbacks, Tagovailoa is better when he is not under pressure late in a game. For Tagovailoa, being under pressure is conducive to making mistakes, rather than playing with the calmness that eliminates them.
The Bills were never really in the game thanks to a fantastic Anthony Weaver game plan that the entire defense bought into. Offensively, Miami ran the ball down their throats with De'Von Achane. All Tagovailoa had to do was remain calm, like he said, and try not to do more than he is capable of doing.
Chastised earlier in the season for saying he can't do the things that Josh Allen and other quarterbacks can do, Tagovailoa finally did what he is capable of doing. He made smart plays and didn't put the team in a position to lose by forcing throws that would be more costly than what essentially became punts.