Things are not looking so bright for the Miami Dolphins. While they will be happy about the close margin win against the New York Jets that gave them a playoff spot, this could be the end of the road. The Dolphins head into their wildcard round facing the Buffalo Bills at Highmark stadium, and they do so without their star man, Tua Tagovailoa, leading them.
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Tagovailoa’s case is a concerning one. He has suffered almost 3 concussions this season, and played through the game on two occasions. His last recorded concussion came during the Dolphins’ Christmas Day game against the Green Bay Packers. Tagovailoa still finished the game, and the next day he was put in concussion protocol.
Analyst Rich Eisen asks an important question on ‘The Rich Eisen Show’ about Tagovailoa’s health. He wonders if the fact that Tagovailoa has not been able to clear the concussion protocol after 3 weeks is concerning. He further asks if this might affect his appearance next season as well, even though that scenario is far away to think about right now.
“Even more disturbing news about Tua Tagovailoa. Christmas Day, suffers a concussion, don’t realize it until the next day. And here we are, going to be 15 days into the new year, and he’s still not cleared to play. So that’ll be something to have a conversation about throughout the rest of the off-season. What happened to Tua? Why couldn’t he go? And should he keep playing football?” he says.
Dolphins rule out Tua Tagovailoa, Skylar Thompson to start amid injury plague
Head coach Mike McDaniel announced the news about Tua Tagovailoa’s injury during his press conference on Thursday. The message was loud and clear: Tagovailoa will not play on Sunday. McDaniel informed reporters that Tagovailoa has not yet been cleared to resume any footballing activity. Due to the massive amount of time he already missed, it wasn’t hard to leave him out of the roster.
Speaking about Tagovailoa’s reaction to the news, he says, “I would say it’s conflicting. He, himself, is learning that he needs to listen to the advice of doctors and medical professionals. He understands the severity of doing that, so there’s a little bit of things that he can’t control. But it is very frustrating for him to not be able to go through everything with his teammates.”
“And really it was a huge goal of his to help get this team to the playoffs and he wants to play in the playoffs. There’s nothing more fun than playoff football and he really finds normal football fun. So very conflicting I would say, but [Tua] understands that it’s his best interest that the doctors and medical professionals are seeking and respects and regards that,” he adds.
Tagovailoa’s absence gives rookie quarterback Skylar Thompson his very first playoffs start in his career. Thompson played in the crucial game against the Jets, where he was able to grind it out against the formidable Jets’ defense. However, not many will be convinced about Thompson’s capabilities, and will likely feel this is the end of the road for Miami this season.
A Dolphins offense without Tua Tagovailoa will be akin to a toothless, flawless tiger. Sure, the massive guns in the offense could be scary to some teams. However, they face a Bills team charged up after hearing news of their injured safety Damar Hamlin’s discharge. Added to that, it’s the Bills’ home stadium. The odds are all in the Bills’ favor, but will Miami play spoilsport and come off with an upset win?
Also Read: “I Got a Family & Kids, But…”: Matthew Stafford Gives Major Update On His Future With The Rams
