Why did the Dolphins pull Tua Tagovailoa for Ryan Fitzpatrick?

The Dolphins have explained their controversial decision to pull Tua Tagovailoa for Ryan Fitzpatrick. 

The Miami Dolphins offense had a rough start Sunday against the Denver Broncos. Tua Tagovailoa was 11/20 for only 83 yards, but did throw a touchdown.

Then he was sent to the bench and Ryan Fitzpatrick got his old job back. The Dolphins were 3-0 with the rookie starting and this seemed to be a somewhat shocking move from head coach Brian Flores. It was initially believed that injury may have factored into the decision, but we learned the real reason after the game.

A reason for benching Tua has been revealed

Dolphins head coach Brian Flores confirmed in his postgame press conference that Tua was benched for performance and not injury.

Fitzpatrick came in and went 12/18 for 117 yards. The problem came late in vintage hit-or-miss Fitzpatrick action. The Dolphins were driving down 20-13 and the veteran threw an interception in the end zone, essentially ending the game.

Tagovailoa has not been throwing for 300 yards on a weekly basis, so his total of 83 wouldn’t be enough to make a drastic change. He only threw for 93 yards in a win earlier this month over the Los Angeles Rams in what was his first start.

An injury to the rookie signal-caller would be a major concern and being extra cautious is a wise move.

The loss drops the Dolphins to 6-4 on the season and still right in the heart of the AFC playoff race. If Tagovailoa is healthy, there is a legitimate discussion about who to start next week. That game is against the New York Jets, so the likely move is the rookie getting back under center and taking on a bad defense in search of a big game in the box score.