Tua Tagovailoa Takes Responsibility For Brutal Miss, Late Fumble

Tua Tagovailoa pointed the finger at himself after two fourth quarter miscues resulted in a Dolphins’ 21-14 loss to the Chiefs in Frankfurt, Germany.

After a dormant offensive performance in the first half trailing 21-0, the Dolphins’ offense came to life in third quarter, scoring two touchdowns to cut the deficit to a one-score game entering the fourth quarter.

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa drops back to pass against the Kansas City Chiefs in the first quarter during an NFL International Series game at Deutsche Bank Park.

Nathan Ray Seebeck / USA TODAY Sports

However, in Miami’s final chance to tie the game and possibly force overtime in Sunday's contest, Tagovailoa and Dolphins wide receiver Cedric Wilson appeared to have had some “miscommunication” as the Wilson ran a different route than Tagovailoa expected. Had Tagovailoa and Wilson been on the same page, Miami would have likely scored another touchdown.

Tua had Cedrick Wilson Jr. wide open for the game-tying score here but severely underthrew him pic.twitter.com/2xZxcs4JBF

— Ben Brown 🌻 (@BenBrownPL) November 5, 2023

“It was a miscommunication with Cedrick Wilson,” Tagovailoa said in the postgame news conference following the loss, per Joe Schad of the Palm Beach Post.  “In big time moments those things can’t happen.”

Tua says miscommunication on Cedrick Wilson pass on third down and took the blame on the mishandled snap on fourth down. pic.twitter.com/RytPTEE00a

— David Furones (@DavidFurones_) November 5, 2023

Then, as Tagovailoa was seeking to redeem himself on fourth down, Dolphins center Connor Williams made a wild snap to the right that bounced off Tagovailoa’s hands for a fumble before Miami recovered it for the turnover on downs. Although it was not the best center-quarterback exchange, Tagovailoa said he has to better in that situation with the game on the line.

“I’m always going to blame myself,” Tagovailoa said, per Safid Deen of USA TODAY Sports. “I got to catch the ball. … Can’t end the game like that when we have an opportunity like that against a great team.”

Miami (6-3) notched its third loss against a team with a winning record this season. None of the Dolphins wins in the 2023 campaign have come against teams with winning records.