Honestly, it was very hard for the Miami Dolphins to pull out a win at Cincinnati after what happened with Tua in the second quarter of that Thursday night football game. In fact, I was impressed the Dolphins played well enough that they even had a shot of winning the game until that last interception in the last minutes of the game.
I watched Tua’s injury on television, and it shocked me; I really can’t imagine what would have been my reaction if I had to witness that hit in person as the players did. Kudos to all of them for competing until the very end of the game. After seeing an injury like that happen to a teammate or a friend, your mind can’t be 100% focused on the game anymore. It was just different from that point on. Winning was not that important; at least, that’s what I felt.
The most important thing is that Tua turns out to be ok, that he avoids a long-term brain injury, and is capable of playing again in the NFL at some point (if medically cleared). I feel sorry for Tua, a kid who had received a bunch of unfair criticism since joining the league, and just when finally he was about to turn the corner……… this happens; I guess life is just unfair sometimes.
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In my opinion, Tua did have a concussion against the Bills (just by the way he stumbled after the hit). Still, I also understand the Dolphins’ decision to let him return to the game, as he passed all the required neurological exams imposed by the league. If decisions will be taken aside from these medical results, then what is the purpose of having them after all? Professional doctors advised the team that Tua could play, so based on that reports, the team allowed Tua to return to the game. Judging any other decision outside of these facts is irresponsible. The team and coaches complied with the established NFL process. Period.
Unfortunately, sometimes you must go through rough times to figure out you are actually doing something wrong. The NFL and the NFLPA are learning the hard way. Its concussion protocol is far from ideal and has weaknesses to overcome. Proof of that is the recent firing of the unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant involved in Tua’s concussion test by the NFLPA. Physicians from each NFL team, along with these independent neurotrauma consultants, are responsible for determining if a player has been concussed during a football game. According to investigations, the fired consultant made mistakes during Tua’s concussion test that ultimately led the player to return to the Bills game. However, every cloud has a silver lining, as Tua’s injury has made everyone involved in football acknowledge there is still work to be done regarding concussions on football players. The league’s concussion protocol needs to be strengthened now to avoid future head injuries in the future.
Back to the game. After seeing Tua leave the field on a stretcher, as I said before, winning was not the main priority anymore. Either way, the game had to be played. Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater filled in for Tua and had a decent performance considering all circumstances. He was 14 out of 23 for 193 yards, 1 TD, and a very costly interception that stalled a Dolphins’ potential game-winning drive. All in all, I think Teddy is a decent backup quarterback. He has NFL experience and sufficient skills to lead the Dolphins to the playoffs. With a full week of practice with the first team and without major distractions such as Tagovailoa’s injury, Teddy will be ready to face the Jets in New York.
As the Dolphins played quality opponents in the first four games of the season, almost nobody projected them to be 3-1 by the end of September. The team’s only loss has come against the reigning AFC Champions on the road after experiencing a horrible injury to its starting quarterback. The indefinite loss of Tua will obviously be a big blow for this team to overcome, but I think the Dolphins are in a pretty good position after all. The schedule eases up this month, and if Teddy is able to gain confidence and show his football skills, this team may continue improving and making positive noise around the league.
Let’s pray for Tua’s health and full recovery.
Jesus Tua is freaking fine he had a concussion you know the thing that happens very often in football. If it weren’t for the media pressure he would be playing Sunday against the Jets. People act as if he had a serious spinal injury which was my fear at first but it was a CONCUSSION NOT a freaking spinal injury which would’ve been much much worse. Concussions are a part of football whether you like it or not there is currently no way to eliminate them but let’s not act like they are more serious than a spinal injury that’s just idiotic. Every single player is more than educated on concussions they know the danger and choose at their own discretion to play the game full well knowing the risks. You cannot play football and eliminate them the two go hand in hand if all the media and doctors want to do is vilify concussions then maybe they should just eliminate football because that would be better than hearing you people cry about it every week when it’s a part of the game. If you watch football and enjoy it then stop bi*ching and accept the fact there will be concussions or go watch golf.