Prior to their meeting on Sunday, Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen offered high praise for Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa for his play so far this season.
"@Tua is playing fantastic right now… You don't want to see your division rivals winning football games, but I'm proud of him." – @JoshAllenQB pic.twitter.com/XWDaeeUtQA
— Kyle Brandt’s Basement (@KBBasement) September 22, 2022
In two games, Tagovailoa has shown the type of talent the Dolphins have been expecting to see since they drafted him with the fifth overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft.
Against the New England Patriots in Miami’s opener on Sept. 11, Tagoviloa completed 23 of 33 passes for 270 yards and one touchdown. He then followed that effort with a standout performance against the Baltimore Ravens in which he threw for 469 yards and six touchdowns.
Even more impressive than the numbers that Tagovailoa put up against the Ravens is how those stats were accomplished.
Entering the fourth quarter against Baltimore, the Dolphins trailed 35-14. By the time the game ended, Tagovailoa had thrown four touchdown passes in the quarter to lead the Dolphins to a thrilling 42-38 win.
Tua Tagovailoa in the 4th quarter vs the Ravens:
🎯 13/17
🎯 199 yards
🎯 4 TDs
🎯 154.2 passer rating pic.twitter.com/LmIlLWgGZS— PFF (@PFF) September 19, 2022
Allen is in his fifth year with the Bills and knows all about dealing with the type of pressure that Tagovailoa has faced. That’s because Allen was chosen by the Bills with the seventh overall pick of the 2018 NFL Draft.
Since becoming the starting quarterback for the Bills, Allen has developed into one of the league’s top signal-callers. During his short career, he’s already thrown 110 touchdown passes.
That number includes seven that Allen has thrown this season.
Sunday’s Bills-Dolphins clash is a matchup of two undefeated teams. The Dolphins are certainly hoping to break a frustrating losing streak in their series against the Bills after dropping seven games in a row to Buffalo.
That streak includes last season’s 35-0 rout by the Bills, part of a disastrous start for the Dolphins that ultimately cost them a playoff spot.
One of the reasons why Tagovailoa has been able to thrive so far this season is that he’s got multiple dangerous weapons at his disposal. Last season, he had rookie receiver Jaylen Waddle, and this season, Waddle has been joined by Tyreek Hill.
Sunday’s contest could turn out to be an important one when the season ends. Regardless of how it turns out, it’s clear that Tagovailoa’s talents aren’t going unnoticed.