Rookie quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was benched by head coach Brian Flores during Sunday’s showdown between the Miami Dolphins and Denver Broncos.
After the outing, he spoke to the media regarding what happened and how he felt about it.
“My thoughts were whatever was going to be best for the team,” he said.
“When I was in, we couldn’t really get things going and coach felt like it was the best decision to put Fitz in to give us a spark. When I heard that — it’s really what’s best for the team.
“If we were to win with Fitz in there, the locker room would be a lot different and everyone would be a lot happier. It just sucks to lose.”
Tagovailoa got off to a decent start, connecting with DeVante Parker in the first quarter for a touchdown. Unfortunately, things quickly derailed from there. The team had to punt on six of its next seven possessions and Tagovailoa ended up going 11 of 20 for 83 yards.
With the score sitting at 20-10 in the fourth quarter, Flores pulled his rookie from the game and inserted former starter Ryan Fitzpatrick.
Gordon Hayward’s wife has never been one to bite her tongue. https://t.co/4yVNe8pMbU
— Game 7 (@game7__) November 21, 2020
Fitzpatrick led the Dolphins on one scoring drive before throwing an interception that secured his team its first loss in six outings.
“Tua wasn’t injured,” Flores confirmed after the loss.
“We felt like it was the best move at that point of the game. … We had an opportunity at the end to tie it.”
You love to see it. https://t.co/rfGuc5GNwi
— Game 7 (@game7__) November 21, 2020
Flores made his move because he truly believed that Fitzpatrick provided the squad with a better chance to win that specific outing.
“We just felt like [Fitzpatrick] gave us the best chance in the 2-minute drill,” he confirmed.
Beyond that, though – Flores said he fully expected Tagovailoa to be the team’s starter against the New York Jets next week.
Paulina Gretzky knows how to celebrate. https://t.co/CH5WJHxifE
— Game 7 (@game7__) November 20, 2020
“He’s a confident kid,” Flores said. “He’s fine.”
Many expected that Miami would be able to handle a banged up Broncos group with ease, but that didn’t end up happening.
Quarterback Drew Lock and wide receiver Tim Patrick got into a serious groove, with the latter ultimately recording 119 receiving yards on five receptions.
Poor Kyle Kuzma out here catching strays. https://t.co/AoWC9QuGv6
— Game 7 (@game7__) November 18, 2020
Fortunately for the Dolphins, they are still very much in the thick of things in the AFC East. Although the Buffalo Bills currently sit on top of them in the standings, Miami has a very favorable schedule ahead.
The Dolphins’ next three games come against the Jets, a Cincinnati Bengals group that is now without rookie sensation Joe Burrow, and a Kansas City Chiefs unit that seems much more fallible this year than they did last.
Buffalo, meanwhile, has to face off against an LA Chargers group that could just as easily be 7-3 right now as they are 3-7, a feisty San Francisco 49ers squad, and the currently undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers.
Related: Lamar Jackson Gets Brutally Honest After Latest Ravens Loss
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
