Through the first 12 weeks of the season, Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was a legitimate candidate for the league’s MVP.
He obviously missed time during that stretch with a serious concussion injury that was the talk of the NFL for a while, but he still started nine games and brought the Dolphins to an 8-1 record in those starts.
Tagovailoa began the season completing 69.7% of his attempts for 2,564 yards, 19 touchdowns and three interceptions with a league-leading 115.7 passer rating.
Since then, he’s fallen back down to Earth.
Over this four-game losing skid, he’s completed just 52.6% of his passes for 984 yards, six touchdowns and five interceptions with an 80.5 passer rating.
Faith that Tagovailoa can lead the Dolphins both into the postseason and on run has dwindled for a group that was once the top seed in the entire conference.
However, former NFL linebacker-turned-analyst Emmanuel Acho, who’s been a staunch defender of Tagovailoa, still believes that the quarterback can get things fixed.
I’m not stressed. The Dolphins still control their own playoff destiny. Tua has played *bad* lately, but he’s also played elite this season.
Win next week + Jets loss
Or win out, & the Dolphins are IN.Once you’re in everybody has equal odds. I trust Tua to snap back. #FinsUp
— Emmanuel Acho (@EmmanuelAcho) December 25, 2022
These two final regular season games are not easy for Miami. Both the New York Jets and New England Patriots are division rivals that always play their division opponents tough, and they also have two of the league’s better defenses.
If the Dolphins, and especially Tagovailoa, want to prove Acho right and the naysayers wrong, it starts next week, and there won’t be much room for mistakes like throwing three interceptions in the fourth-quarter of a winnable contest.
