All it took for Tua Tagovailoa to debut for the Miami Dolphins was to enter in garbage time against the New York Jets.
This season, we’ve seen rookie quarterbacks Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert make their respective NFL debuts. Many were wondering when Tua Tagovailoa’s time would come for the Miami Dolphins, considering they’ve been playing well with Ryan FItzpatrick under center. The answer arrived on Sunday.
The Dolphins held a 24-0 lead over the abysmal New York Jets, and with over two minutes remaining in regulation, head coach Brian Flores opted to put the former Alabama Crimson Tide signal caller into the game. Twitter users immediately lost their minds.
All-time Dolphins completion percentage leaders:
— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) October 18, 2020
1. Tua Tagovailoa, 100%
With that...Tua Tagovailoa is now the most accurate passer in NFL History.
— Three Yards Per Carry (@3YardsPerCarry) October 18, 2020
Tua Tagovailoa vs Trevor Lawrence is going to be so much fun in the AFC East for a very, very long time.
— Simon Clancy (@SiClancy) October 18, 2020
Trivia question: Who caught Tua Tagovailoa's first NFL pass?
— Omar Kelly (@OmarKelly) October 18, 2020
Answer: Patrick Laird.
Tua Tagovailoa’s career completion pct is 34.8 percentage points higher than Joe Burrow.
— KD (@notkdk3) October 18, 2020
Tua Tagovailoa's career stats:
— Josh Tolentino (@JCTSports) October 18, 2020
2-for-2, 9 passing yards. Perfection.
6 games into the NFL season and Tua Tagovailoa has yet to throw an incomplete pass or an interception 💁🏼♂️💪🏼
— At1anta (@CrimsonNation16) October 18, 2020
Tua tagovailoa finished his first career game throwing 2/2. No quarterback in the league has ever topped his 100 percent completion rating, making him the greatest quarterback ever. #TuaTime
— Cj🖤 (@gil1s) October 18, 2020
Tua Tagovailoa has never thrown an incomplete pass in his NFL career
— Richard McCarson (@RichieMcCarson) October 18, 2020
Ryan Fitzpatrick on 3rd down: 0-8
— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) October 18, 2020
Tua Tagovailoa on 3rd down: 1-1
i think you know what to do, @MiamiDolphins
“Tua Time” arrived for a short period
The Dolphins had an easy day at the office, as they faced a Jets team that’s destined to finish with an 0-16 record. The offensive guru in Adam Gase couldn’t draw up a scoring play, especially with aging Joe Flacco under center. We guarantee the Dolphins weren’t complaining about it, because they were feasting on the Jets all game long.
After Fitzpatrick completed 18-of-29 of his pass attempts for 191 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions, the veteran was pumped to see the fifth-overall pick get a taste of some NFL action. Tagovailoa completed both of his passing attempts for nine yards. Fun fact, the first player to catch a Tagovailoa pass was Patrick Laird, in case you want to make a bar bet (post-pandemic, of course).
If the Dolphins continue to win with Fitzpatrick as starter, that means we won’t see Tagovailoa play meaningful minutes until 2021. But hey, football fans will have no problems with the rookie getting limited snaps throughout the season.