Tua Tagovailoa was benched late in the Dolphins' disastrous 31-6 loss to the Browns on Sunday. With Miami's starting quarterback getting rocked in Cleveland, does this mean the team should bench him from starting in Week 8 at Atlanta?
Tagovailoa struggled against Myles Garrett and the mighty Browns' defense, completing only 12-of-23 pass attempts for 100 yards with a 52.2 completion percentage, 4.0 yards per attempt and microscopic 63.7 passer rating. He had three more interceptions, including a pick six early in the third quarter, to push him to 10 for the season during a 1-6 start.
“The turnovers showed up for me and you can’t expect to win games like that" Tagovailoa told reporters after the game. "We shot ourselves in the foot."
Offensive-minded head coach Mike McDaniel, on the hot seat for Tagovailoa and an underperforming once-explosive attack, hasn't shied away from throwing Tua under the proverbial bus for recent past poor play. With the Falcons' red-hot No. 1 pass defense looming in Week 8, don't rule out Tagovailoa hitting the bench for a whole game.
It doesn't matter that Tagovailoa is in Year 2 of his four-year, $212 million post-rookie contract. Desperation, not money, can drive McDaniel to making a change.
"The tape never lies," McDaniel said after the game. "We’ll have probably 20 plays that were self-inflicted wounds." That doesn't sound like good news for Tagovailoa.
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Dolphins QB depth chart: Quinn Ewers vs. Zach Wilson
Rookie Quinn Ewers was active behind Tagovailoa and came in for tough mop-up duty against the Browns. The seventh-rounder just jumped former Jets No. 2 overall pick Zach Wilson for the top backup job.
Ewers both making the team and then being promoted over Wilson before midseason is interesting. There's enough to believe that McDaniel might want to evaluate Ewers with confidence dropping in Tagovailoa with each passing week.
There's also the thought that Tagovailoa ran into a nasty defense and Ewers would get the same feeling on the road in Week 8. But at this point, Tagovailoa is giving the Dolphins little chance to win games, giving them nothing to lose with Ewers.
Switching to Ewers may not be enough for McDaniel to keep his job. But at this point, after the Browns' embarrassment, in large part to a Tua meltdown, the next man up has a lot more appeal for the starting lineup.
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