The Miami Dolphins had a single good play against the Kansas City Chiefs in their wild card matchup. Besides for that it did not look the Dolphins had a chance at all to even be in that game let alone win. The play came from former Kansas City receiver Tyreek Hill who made a spectacular play on an underthrown ball to score.
The final score was 26-7 with the only shining moment for Miami being Tyreek’s incredible play. Tua Tagovailoa had one of the worst games of his career in his first playoff game and, while the weather must have played a roll in his poor play, there were many short check downs that he missed by a mile.
While Tua had his best year on the Dolphins this season, having one of the best seasons at the quarterback position in the league, the question remains of whether or not to pay the man the way the top quarterbacks get paid. The answer after half a decade of playing with the Dolphins is no.
Miami Dolphins’ Tua Tagavailoa Should Not Get The Huge Contract
Tua has now consistently proven that he cant win the big game in his career so far and even more than that he has not been able to prove that he can even compete when faced with a big time game. This brutal blowout loss is yet another big game choke to add to the list. This is the third big game loss in a row to end the year.
Just a month ago they had the opportunity to be the 1 seed of the AFC and not even play during the Wild Card weekend. The team destroyed a bunch of the bad teams in the league and Tua shined in those scenarios, but the only win they got this year to a good team was against the Dallas Cowboys. After having the opportunity to secure the top seed in the conference they got absolutely destroyed by the Baltimore Ravens 56-19.
Tua did not compete in that game, but they still had an opportunity on a silver plater to win the AFC East the following week against their rival the Buffalo Bills. Tua followed that matchup with yet another terrible game in which Josh Allen gave him many opportunities to take the game. In the final quarter Josh Allen outplayed Tua and they took another loss 21-14.
Finally they finish the season with another blowout loss and the offense looking like one of the worst in the league with the only production coming from receiver Hill on a bad throw. There is no reason for head coach Mike McDaniel to think that Tua is the guy to carry this offense. Miami has to find other options than paying Tua the money that the best quarterbacks are getting.
Heres a couple plays from MIA O that may help explain what I was talking about last night and where some of the struggles come when the primary guy isn’t open for Tua/QB… (and always remember I’m not in the room so it may be execution as much as play design)… #StudyBall pic.twitter.com/VbYkXy5k11
— Kurt Warner (@kurt13warner) January 14, 2024
Either Tua will need to take a deal that wouldn’t be a huge cap hit or Miami needs to look for a better option at the position. They had all their offense healthy and they couldn’t manage to have one good drive the whole game. Tua has proven now that he is not the answer to even give Miami a single playoff win let alone hopes of a Super Bowl.