The Miami Dolphins took the field on Sunday for their home opener against the Denver Broncos and put down one of the biggest shellackings in the history of the NFL.
But before the game even began, former NFL MVP-turned-broadcaster Boomer Esiason was fawning over the performance of Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa through the first two weeks of the season, even comparing him to a Hall of Famer.
Buy Dolphins Tickets“How about Tua Tagovailoa, guys,” Esiason asked his fellow deskmates. “It does warm my heart to see him play the way that he is playing. And, you know what? He played great last year until he got hurt, and then he came back, he played great again, and then he got hurt again… I will say this: His ball, accuracy, anticipation and the softness of the ball coming to the receiver’s hands reminds me of Joe Montana.”
The statement was met with some expected “oohs” and “aahs,” but it’s one that Esiason believes.
Then, the Dolphins went out and scored 70 points with Tagovailoa completing 23 of his 26 attempts for 309 yards and four touchdowns with a 155.8 passer rating. That’s more touchdowns than incompletions.
While the most eye-popping performances of the day may have come from the duo of Raheem Mostert and De’Von Achane, the quarterback is the one who is executing everything on another level.
It might still be a bit blasphemous to compare a young quarterback who hasn’t even started a playoff game to a four-time Super Bowl champion and two-time league MVP, but what Tagovailoa is doing is clearly impressive. And, if he can continue playing like this and, of course, remain healthy, he’ll have a good shot at helping Miami win their first postseason matchup since 2000.
