Dolphins Lose Tua, Game In Grim Affair On TNF
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Tua Tagovailoa will be discharged from the hospital, and will likely travel with the team back to
South Florida. Nothing else much matters or could be more important.
As for the final score, the Miami Dolphins lost their first game of the season, 27-15 to the
Cincinnati Bengals.
But everything about this one feels much bigger than a single game.
For Tagovailoa, who is now in the concussion protocol, health is paramount. How long it takes
him to recover and be able to return to action is anyone’s guess. Whatever length of time that is
though, he must take every second of it. Watching him on the field in the aftermath of that hit
was football at its worst. Players, coaches, commentators- all were visibly shaken.
For the Dolphins, there are two ways to look at this first defeat. On the one hand, it was a short week after a game in which the defense played 90 snaps in extreme heat. A loss here was not shocking, and the game only slipped away once star corner Xavien Howard was ruled out and backup quarterback Teddy Bridgewater threw a brutal interception to end a promising drive. If nothing else, Tyreek Hill remains great, as evidenced by his 10 catch for 160 yard effort. The team will now have ten days to prepare for the New York Jets, easily the worst team Miami will have faced this season. Even if Bridgewater is under center, so long as everyone else can play, Miami should be able to win easily.
Then again, next week does suddenly feel very must win for a 3-1 team. A loss to the Jets, and those wins against Baltimore and Buffalo are going to be treated as lucky breaks rather than statement games. At 4-1, the Dolphins are still a force to be reckoned with. At 3-2, they’re something else entirely.
Howard missing anytime would be disastrous. Jaylen Waddle was also seen doing a lot of
limping on the sideline Thursday night. As for quarterback, I would point to that late interception
being much more illustrative of what to expect than that one deep pass to Hill. Bridgewater is a
downgrade, and the offense is less explosive with him driving it. A week of reps with the starters
will help, but likely only to the point it will allow Miami to do just enough to support the defense.
Bridgewater can perhaps win half the games he plays. Tagovailoa can help Miami challenge for
the division.
Ultimately, this game went about as poorly as many feared. The team would be tired from the
Buffalo game. Injured players would play anyway, and further aggravate their injuries. Either
that, or be sluggish enough that they would end up incurring new ones. The result? Not just a
loss, but a loss that sets up more losses.
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