Tua Tagovailoa finally takes accountability for Dolphins' failed season

The Miami Dolphins' 2024 season is hanging by a thin thread that is about to snap, and one of the reasons why is Tua Tagovailoa.

Miami's quarterback can't be fully blamed for the mess this team has become, but he is finally shouldering his part of the Dolphins' failed season. It only took him 12 weeks to do it.

We have to go all the way back to Week 2 of the season when the Dolphins were getting beat by the Buffalo Bills (again). Tua was trying to keep his team in the game, so instead of sliding, he lowered his head. Tagovailoa suffered a concussion and would miss the next four games. Miami's season went into the tank immediately afterward.

Tua stayed away from the media through those five weeks, including the team's bye. When he returned, he threw a rather egotistical cold shoulder to the concept of playing differently. His short answers and decisions, like not wearing a protective cover over his helmet, were taken as a little childish.

Now, with the season all but officially over, Tua is changing some of that tune he was humming.

Tua Tagovailoa gets honest about the Dolphins' disappointing season

"Nobody else will say it but me. I feel like this has a lot to do with myself, obviously putting myself in harm's way in the second game. Going down, basically leaving my guys out to dry," said Tagovailoa. "Just don't want to do that to my guys again."

Tua would never say it out loud, but there is a part of him that desperately wants to silence the negativity toward him. It's natural. Many media members have dogged him since he was drafted. Tagovailoa will say that he doesn't listen to the outside comments, but the fact he knows about what is being said tells a different story.

Miami's quarterback has never been considered a tough football player like Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson. He is much more finesse and timing than anything else. When he has had the opportunity to show a more physical side, he has taken it, but in Week 2, it cost him four games and put his team so far behind in the playoff chase that the margin for error was one or two games at best.

Regardless of what Tua says or thinks about his decision back in Week 2, the Dolphins' problems are not all the quarterback's fault.

Miami's playoff chances will come down to winning the final five games against the Jets twice, the 49ers, the Browns, and the Texans. Then, they need the Colts to lose at least one and the Broncos to lose at least two.

Five years into his NFL career, you would think Tagovailoa would have learned this lesson a long time ago.

More Dolphins News and Analysis