Tua, Belichick in the box, Brady/Bucs, AFC’s best

(Note: After we taped the show, it was revealed that Tua Tagovailoa reported concussion symptoms following a tackle in the first half of the Packers game. Tagovailoa is now in the NFL’s concussion protocol).

From opening week through the end of November, Tua Tagovailoa of the Dolphins was one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks, and a legitimate MVP candidate. He completed 198 of 284 passes for 2,564 yards, 19 touchdowns, three interceptions, and a passer rating of 115.7. But in his four December games, Tagovailoa completed 61 of 116 passes for 984 yards, six touchdowns, five interceptions, and a passer rating of 80.5. The Dolphins have lost their last four games, and while Tagovailoa had struggled throughout that time, Sunday’s loss to the Packers, in which he threw interceptions on three straight fourth-quarter drives, was the nadir of the whole thing. This was especially odd after Tagovailoa lit it up in the first half against Green Bay. It’s obvious that the Dolphins have a quarterback problem right now. How do they fix it?

Doug: Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth. That’s the famous Mike Tyson quote. Well, Tua has been punched in the mouth over and over in Miami’s last four games. Defenses have figured out how to funnel Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle where the defenses want them to go. They’re dropping and matching over the middle to take away his reads there. Tua isn’t getting the easy, defined looks he got in the first few months of the season, and that showed up in the disastrous fourth quarter against the Packers. He’s pressing. He’s either throwing far too early or far too late, and to the wrong spot far too often. 

It reminds me of what Josh Allen went through in 2020. He came out ridiculous with 12 touchdowns and one interception in his first four games, and Brian Daboll was dialing up all kinds of man-beaters. Then, defenses started to give him weird zone looks and coverage switches, and his head exploded. So, Daboll brought it back to basics. Take the checkdown unless the big play is there, Build it back up. It obviously worked. Allen was in his third NFL season then, just like Tagovailoa is now. The best thing head coach and offensive shot-caller Mike McDaniel can do is to scale back the deep shots, rely a bit more on a good run game to open things up downfield, and let Tua get his feet back under him. Right now, I think he’s still looking for that plan after…