Hopefully, fans brought their brooms to Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday because the Miami Dolphins were sweeping. That’s right, the Dolphins got back on track with a 31-17 win vs. the New England Patriots in Week 8, sweeping their division rivals. 

The Dolphins advanced to 6-2, and Tua Tagovailoa poured in another strong performance after a slightly bumpy start. He finished with 332 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. 

The Patriots’ defense kept Miami’s passing game in check earlier this season but failed to do so on Sunday. Let’s dive into this week’s film to see how Tagovailoa diced up the Patriots. 

Tua All-22 Review vs. Patriots

Early Road Bumps

Usually, we start with the good stuff and work our way to the bad stuff in this column. However, Tagaovailoa made one early mistake and played much better the rest of the game. So, let’s get it out of the way. 

This INT comes from the Patriots’ three-safety look, something we discussed heavily earlier in the season. The key player to watch is No. 23, Kyle Duggar. He steps down into the intermediate area of the field right off the snap. 

Duggar reads Tagovailoa’s eyes and steps in front of Tyreek Hill’s bang post. Duggar makes an excellent play and should get his props for that. Still, this isn’t a throw Tagovailoa should make. 

We’ve discussed how a few of Tagovailoa’s INTs have resulted from blind trust in the offense. This is another one of those. Although Tagovailoa has taken significant strides in his post-snap processing this season, he still throws to his spots no matter what sometimes. 

Smart defenders know that and can hedge their bets. Last season, Tagovailoa would’ve tried to bang his head against the wall all game. This year, he adapted and started peppering the ball outside the numbers. 

Bounce Back

Something Dolphins fans have come to expect from Tagovailoa is his ability to regroup after a mistake. Sunday was no different as Tagovailoa threw this beautiful rainbow ball to Hill on the drive right after the INT. 

Another theme of this year’s column has been Tagovailoa’s improved placement on vertical routes. He’s underthrowing guys much less this season, so it’s great to see that continue. 

The touch, accuracy, and placement couldn’t have been better on this throw. What’s genuinely mindblowing about this play is it’s essentially identical to the touchdown against the Eagles last week. 

The Patriots try to bracket Hill with a CB and safety, don’t press him at the line, and then are surprised when he runs by them. This is mainly an aside, but the Patriots missing those details makes me question Bill Belichick’s future more than anything. 

Anywho, back to Tagovailoa, this was a dime, and it came at a critical moment in the game when the Patriots had grabbed some momentum. 

Darts 

Tagovailoa had two throws on Sunday that could only be described as darts. The first one was on the game’s first drive. The Dolphins were in a fourth and short situation, which has given them some trouble. 

Miami calls an RPO with their favorite route combination — motion into a wheel, vertical, flat. The target is Jaylen Waddle, who has zero separation off the snap. The Dolphins’ offensive line is down-blocking, so an unblocked defender is bearing down on Tagovailoa. 

He’s got roughly one second to execute the fake and get the ball out before Duggar sacks him, turning the Dolphins over on downs. Tagovailoa gets the ball out, and he hits Waddle on the back shoulder with an absolute seed. 

There is no other way this play ends with a completion. The understanding of leverage and the ability to hit Waddle with an accurate pass on this play highlights why Tagovailoa can maximize the Dolphins’ offense. 

His accuracy and anticipation jump off the screen every game, and this was just another example. 

That was dart No. 1, and here’s dart No. 2. There are a few essential qualifications for this throw. The first is the game situation. 

The Dolphins are leading, 24-17, with 6:29 remaining in the game. It’s a third and nine from the minus 41. Miami can salt the game away with another first down, but a Patriots stop allows them to tie the game or go ahead with a two-point conversion. 

It’s a “gotta have it” scenario. Given it’s third and nine, it’s a play where you expect your quarterback to carry the burden. 

That leads us to the second to the second essential qualification — Tagovailoa’s throw is perfect. It might not look like it because Hill has to elevate and takes a shot on his back, but it is. 

Tagovailoa shows tremendous anticipation. He knows where the hole in zone coverage will be and lets the ball go way before Hill breaks his route off. Tagovailoa doesn’t have the velocity to hit tight windows when he’s late, so he has to be early. 

As for the placement, the throw leads Hill away from one defender and then is dotted on his back shoulder. That allows him to jump and use his body as a shield against the other defender. It basically eliminates him from the play. Hill ends up catching this ball like a basketball forward rebounds a basketball. 

Hill deserves a ton of credit for the catch and holding onto it through contact, but the throw is arguably the best one Tagovailoa made on Sunday. “Clutch” is a difficult word to define, but there are a lot of small moments in NFL games that have more meaning than some realize. 

This throw is just one of those moments. A poorly placed throw might’ve changed the outcome of the game. Instead, Tagovailoa is on-target, allowing the Dolphins to drive the length of the field and deliver the knockout punch. 

Conclusion

We’re keeping things short this week. Tagovailoa and the Dolphins were much better than the Patriots on Sunday. Despite having four backup offensive linemen, Tagovailoa was kept clean most of the day. 

In fact, the only OL to allow a sack in 1-on-1 pass protection was Robert Hunt before his injury. That group and OL coach Butch Barry deserve a lot of credit for yesterday’s win. 

So, what does this game tell us about Tagovailoa? Very little. Last week’s game was so important because Tagovailoa was challenged. Outside of his first-quarter INT, there wasn’t much adversity in this one. 

That’s not to take anything away from his performance. Tagovailoa played extremely well on Sunday. It’s just to say there’s no reason to push him one way or the other on our “elite meter.” 

He’s continuing to show all the same progress that’s allowed him to take a jump in play.

Next week is a different story. It’s another gut-check game for Tagovailoa. It’s another chance to take down a legitimate contending team. A chance to out-duel the NFL’s best quarterback, Patrick Mahomes. 

Don’t ignore the Chiefs’ defense, either. They’re quite good and will send a lot of pressure Tagovailoa’s way. Next week’s game matters more. And we can’t wait to break it down.