(Editor’s note: This is excerpted from Mike Sando’s Pick Six of Oct. 28, 2024.)
Two stories played out in Florida as the Arizona Cardinals pulled out a 28-27 victory over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.
The Cardinals stacked back-to-back victories for the first time since they started 7-0 in 2021. This was big for Arizona to keep pace in an underwhelming NFC West. It was big for general manager Monti Ossenfort and coach Jonathan Gannon as they try to show progress on the field in their second season together. It was also big for Kyler Murray and rookie Marvin Harrison Jr. to connect consistently (six receptions for 111 yards and a touchdown on seven targets).
Tua Tagovailoa’s return was the bigger story given all the implications for him and the team. My top three takeaways from Tagovailoa and the Dolphins:
• Tua’s value enhanced: Tagovailoa comes out looking better than the Dolphins’ roster construction and offensive coaching.
Tagovailoa is seen by coaches and executives as a Tier 3 quarterback unable to carry a team, so it’s striking to see how different the Dolphins’ offense has been with and without him. The evidence suggests the personnel department should have had better options behind him, knowing Tagovailoa’s health was fragile. Even then, it was surprising that coach Mike McDaniel could not get more from the offense when Tagovailoa was sidelined.
“I think there is blame to go around,” an exec said. “Nobody has done less with some of the best perimeter help in the league, but did they really think Skylar Thompson was going to be the answer? There is fault for the front office, for the coach and for executing. Not even being able to function.”
The Dolphins were down to third quarterback Tyler Huntley after Thompson lasted only one start. That is a big mitigating factor for McDaniel and the coaching staff. Miami is the only team this season to start a true No. 3 quarterback (I’m excluding Jameis Winston, who technically was No. 3 for Cleveland in Week 7 before starting Sunday).
Miami went five consecutive games without surpassing 15 points, starting with the Week 2 game Tagovailoa failed to finish following his concussion. This was the Dolphins’ longest such streak since 2004 and tied for the third-longest in franchise history, per Pro Football Reference.
With Tagovailoa in the lineup Sunday, the Dolphins hit season highs on offense in points (27) and EPA (10.6).
• Tua’s motives pure: Tagovailoa’s love for the game appears to be the driving force behind his decision to risk future concussions. I don’t buy the idea that he’s financially conflicted after signing a $212 million contract in the offseason.
Tagovailoa has already earned $70 million. He’s not hurting financially. While the Dolphins could try to reclaim bonus money if Tagovailoa retired, I don’t think they would take a cutthroat approach to such a situation. When Andrew Luck retired from the Indianapolis Colts in 2019, the team let him keep $19 million in bonus money it could have reclaimed.
“I agree 100 percent,” the exec said. “I think he has love for the game and he’s beyond even deciding if he is going to play. The question for me is, what if he has another one?”
• Week 9 is big: The Dolphins would fall to 2-5 if they lose at Buffalo next week. That record might turn some teams into sellers at the trade deadline, which passes two days after Miami’s game against the Bills. This season might be too important for the Dolphins to think along those lines if Tagovailoa remains healthy at the deadline.
One exec doubted Dolphins ownership would have the patience at this stage to start selling. The future in Miami could become challenging for a team that carried the NFL’s oldest snap-weighted roster into Week 8.
(Photo: Carmen Mandato / Getty Images)
