Tua Tagovailoa is ready for encore performance as Miami Dolphins look for redemption vs. Buffalo Bills

Sep 25, 2022 - 10:30 AM

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Since being drafted by the Miami Dolphins fifth-overall in the 2020 NFL draft, starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is *0-3 vs. the Buffalo Bills.

And yes, I have an asterisk because Jesse Davis is at fault for QB1 taking a vicious hit early last season, which knocked him out of the game. Faulting Tua for that loss when he played two series isn’t fair. But that doesn’t matter; he hasn’t beat the Bills since arriving in Miami.

Worst of all, the Dolphins have only defeated Josh Allen once since his reign in the AFC East began in 2018. Allen is 7-1 vs. Miami — that one win coming back on December 2nd, 2018, when Josh Allen nearly completed a last-minute pass that fell just short of tight end Charles Clay in the end zone.

It has been dreadful for the Dolphins vs. the Bills over the last five or six seasons.

But the tables are starting to turn under the new regime in Miami. (IMO)

Last week, Tua Tagovailoa lit the world on fire, throwing for 469 yards and six touchdowns. We only dreamed this would happen under head coach Brian Flores and his three-headed monster of an offensive coaching staff. Heck, I still remember Godsey’s face when Tagovailoa connected on a deep ball during the one game last season. That’s becoming the new norm in Miami under offensive mastermind Mike McDaniel.

Tua has looked impressive after two weeks, leading the league in passing yards and touchdowns. In year three, Tagovailoa appears to be taking the next step, similar to what Josh Allen did in his third year after the team traded for Stefon Diggs. Of course, Allen is an elite quarterback, so please don’t act like I’m comparing the two. Not yet, anyway. But it is crazy what a player can do when he doesn’t have a head coach that despises him or skill players that may have been better suited for the XFL.

But unfortunately, none of that matters.

Because if the Dolphins want to compete in the AFC, they have to start competing against the Buffalo Bills for AFC East supremacy. Buffalo is the early favorite to win the Super Bowl. The consensus pick to win the conference, but what if they’re not even the best team in the AFC East?

Today, Tagovailoa gets a chance to rewrite history.

To put that season-ending loss from 2020 when he threw three interceptions behind him.

Or even last year when he went 21/39 for 205 yards and a pick. Tagovailoa knows he can play better. He showed us last week he can play much better than even some of his most beloved fans ever imagined.

Now today, vs. a banged-up Buffalo Bills’ defense, he shows everyone who he really is.

A franchise quarterback that can go toe-to-toe with the best of them.

First, it was New England Patriots QB Mac Jones. Then the uber-talented Lamar Jackson. And now, Chris Collinsworth’s favorite player and one of the top-3 quarterbacks in all of football, Josh Allen.

It’s time for Tua Tagovailoa to do what we all knew he can do. #LetTuaCook

(P.S. We also really need the defense to step up, but this article was about Tua.)

What are your thoughts heading into today’s matchup vs. the Buffalo Bills? Do you think Tua will have an encore performance? What’s your prediction for today’s game? Let us know in the comments section below!