The short-term appeal of an undefeated run to begin the regular-season was all too tempting for the Miami Dolphins to do the right thing and bench Tua Tagovailoa after he was very obviously concussed in their Week 3 win over the Buffalo Bills (even if it was never reported as a concussion).
The long-term repercussions will be devastating.
Tagovailoa will have to deal with the effects of likely suffering three concussions in a span of three months. The Dolphins will have to deal with the Bills again, this time without Tagovailoa, who was officially ruled out for their Wild Card playoff meeting to no one’s surprise.
#Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said that QB Tua Tagovailoa has been ruled out.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 11, 2023
Buffalo is a 13-point favorite over the Dolphins, who only have themselves to blame for the carnage that’s about to take place Sunday.
Miami’s +550 odds to win at BetMGM are by far the longest of any team in the Wild Card round.
The Dolphins had one of the most explosive offenses of the early regular-season. Had they simply viewed 2022 through the bigger lens of postseason possibilities — if not the humane view of Tagovailoa’s health — they would have seen the quarterback as worth preserving and trusted the early success to be replicable once he was more equipped to play.
That was too much to expect from a team with all of two playoff appearances in the last 20 years and none since 2016, though. Prosperity was unfamiliar.
So, when Tagovailoa came up wobbled after a hit in the second quarter of that Week 3 game, they labeled it a back injury and threw him back out in the second half to win a game that gave them a 3-0 record. Whoop-de-freaking-do!
Then, with 4-0 a possibility, they put him back on the field just four days later, where he took another vicious blow to the head. This time Tagovailoa was officially diagnosed with a concussion, even as it was hard to believe he was completely over the previous one. Concussion expert Chris Nowinski said Tagovailoa should have never been out there.
Thankfully, the Dolphins did rest him the next couple of weeks, but the damage was already done. A third head injury would all but end his season, and that’s precisely what happened on Christmas when he slammed his head against the ground again (and still finished the game).
Tagovailoa hasn’t played since that day, and he’ll be lucky to live a normal life without lingering effects, let alone continue his career. In his place, the Dolphins are preparing to start rookie Skylar Thompson, who has one touchdown in 105 pass attempts and none in his previous two starts. They’ll be lucky not to lose by 20 points.
They can thank themselves for present circumstances. If only they had taken better care of their quarterback, maybe things would be different.
