On Sunday, the Miami Dolphins will play the Washington Commanders in Madrid, Spain. While it will be a game between two 3-7 football teams, it will still be a big matchup for a couple of reasons. For starters, it will be the first-ever NFL game in Spain.
Beyond the location, the game will see two Hawaii-born quarterbacks of Samoan descent play against each other, which is something Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is excited about.
Tagovailoa spoke with the media on Wednesday, and opened up about how excited he is to be one half of this matchup. Not only is he excited to play against another Hawaiian quarterback of Samoan descent, he’s excited that the quarterback is Marcus Mariota, someone he has looked up to throughout his life. The Dolphins quarterback explained that on Wednesday, saying he was a big fan of the Commanders QB, and is happy for his success.
More Tua on facing Marcus Mariota on the other side. https://t.co/EduUq2Stvb pic.twitter.com/z12M2gEY94
— David Furones (@DavidFurones_) November 12, 2025
Tua Tagovailoa says playing against Marcus Mariota will be full-circle moment
Beyond sharing the field with someone he looked up to, Tagovailoa emphasized that Sunday’s game will be a cool moment for kids in Hawaii, and all throughout the Pacific Islands, “to be able to see two Polynesian quarterbacks go at it.” Again, it will be especially special for Tagovailoa since he’ll be a part of the matchup.
Marcus Mariota, who’s starting in place of an injured Jayden Daniels, is five years older than Tagovailoa, so it makes sense that the Miami quarterback watched his journey and drew inspiration. Mariota went from Honolulu to Oregon, to winning the Heisman Trophy, to being the second-overall pick in 2015, and lasting in the NFL for over a decade.
Tagovailoa, who went to the same high school as Mariota, went to Alabama for college and won a ton of awards and a national championship before being selected fifth overall in the 2020 Draft.
The two were on opposing sidelines back in 2020 when the Dolphins played the Las Vegas Raiders, but Mariota didn’t get in the game. Barring any last-minute injuries, that won’t be the case on Sunday. Both guys are set to start, officially creating this moment that almost happened five years ago. The two quarterbacks also have a relationship stemming back to their youth, so Sunday’s game will be special.