Fox Sports analyst Nick Wright had some harsh criticism for Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa following the team’s loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday Night Football in Week 14 of the NFL season.
Wright used Tagovailoa’s struggles as a reason to highlight why the Dolphins pursued Deshaun Watson and Tom Brady as their quarterback in previous offseasons.
The last 8 days of football is a good reminder why in the last 13 months the Dolphins brain trust did everything they could do to try to trade for Deshaun Watson & then broke multiple, long-standing NFL rules to try to get Tom Brady.
— nick wright (@getnickwright) December 12, 2022
The Dolphins didn’t end up with either Watson or Brady, but they had been off to a great start in the 2022 season with Tagovailoa at the helm.
The No. 5 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, Tagovailoa hadn’t lost a game that he started and finished in the 2022 season prior to the team’s loss to the San Francisco 49ers in Week 13.
Now, Miami has lost back-to-back games, and the University of Alabama product has struggled in both of them. Miami still has a path to the playoffs at 8-5, but the team is going to need to finish the 2022 season strong to get there.
Tagovailoa’s struggles this season began against the 49ers, as he completed just 18 of his 33 pass attempts, throwing two interceptions in the loss. For the 2022 season, Tagovailoa is completing 65.5 percent of his passes, so the 18-for-33 night (54.5 percent) was certainly a step back.
In Week 14, the Chargers really limited the Dolphins quarterback, holding him to just 145 passing yards, his second lowest total of the 2022 season. Tagovailoa threw for just 110 yards in Week 4 against the Cincinnati Bengals, but he left that game early due to a head injury.
The biggest issue in Week 14 was the accuracy issues for Tagovailoa, as he completed just 10 of his 28 pass attempts (35.7 percent). The Dolphins’ offense is going to struggle if he’s that inefficient at any point again this season.
There have been a lot of positives from Tagovailoa in his third NFL season, and he still leads the league in yards gained per pass attempt and yards gained per pass completion.
However, Wright is pointing out that the Dolphins weren’t completely sold on the former first-round pick during his first two seasons in the NFL, and it’s possible struggles like this are the reason why.
Tagovailoa and the Dolphins will look to bounce back in Week 15 in a crucial division matchup against the Buffalo Bills.
