The Miami Dolphins are now 2-0 on the young NFL season after holding off the New England Patriots 24-17 on Sunday Night Football.
Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa had a solid performance, completing 21 of 30 passes, and although New England defensive end Deatrich Wise called him a good quarterback, he didn’t seem too impressed with him.
Deatrich Wise, asked about Tua Tagovailoa being 5-0 against them, said Tua is a good quarterback, but “he doesn’t do anything special against us.” pic.twitter.com/k891RcGgWY
— Karen Guregian (@kguregian) September 18, 2023
Tagovailoa had a breakout 2022 campaign by throwing for 3,548 yards and 25 touchdown passes while registering a league-high passer rating of 105.5. However, he dealt with multiple concussions and spent a considerable amount of time in concussion protocol, which led some pundits to plead with him to call it quits for the sake of his own health.
Obviously, Tagovailoa did not listen to those pundits, and so far this year, he is doing very well.
Behind running back Raheem Mostert’s 121 rushing yards and two touchdowns, including a 43-yard run that resulted in a touchdown in the fourth quarter, Miami got out to a 24-10 lead. But the Patriots responded with a touchdown run of their own from Rhamondre Stevenson, and when Miami subsequently missed a field goal, its fans were feeling a little nervous.
Adding to that anxiety was a hard hit star wide receiver Jaylen Waddle took late in the fourth quarter that forced him to sit out for the remainder of the game.
But when New England quarterback Mac Jones failed to convert on a fourth down with about a minute remaining, victory was ensured for the Fins.
They now sit alone on top of the AFC East with a 2-0 record. With the New York Jets’ Aaron Rodgers out for the year due to his torn Achilles and the Buffalo Bills’ overtime loss to those same Jets in Week 1, Miami could have a golden opportunity to stake its claim to division superiority.
Next Sunday, it will host the Denver Broncos, who are now 0-2 after a 35-33 loss to the Washington Commanders.
