The moment so many Miami Dolphins fans had been awaiting, anticipating for so long finally arrived when the team handed the reins of the offense to the great quarterback hope, Tua Tagovailoa.
It was a moment six months in the making, maybe longer if you subscribe to the theory that the Dolphins had targeted Tagovailoa from the time they started their massive rebuilding project in 2019.
Given the nature of the media landscape in 2020, practically every little thing Tua did before his start, during his first start and after his first start was discussed, dissected, digested and discussed some more.
After a rather disappointing first start (from an individual performance standpoint only), Tagovailoa gave the Dolphins in his second outing all they were hoping to see.
If Tua Mania wasn’t already in full force, it was after that stellar performance in the 34-31 victory against the Arizona Cardinals, complete with a career-launching 93-yard touchdown drive that tied the score in the fourth quarter.
Here are some of the highlights from the start of Tua’s NFL career:
THE GAME BALL
It was a great scene, captured by NFL Films, that caught Tagovailoa handing Flores a game ball as he was walking off the field at Arizona.
As the video showed, Flores initially told Tua the game ball belonged to him before the quarterback insisted on Flores taking it.
The gesture was about gratitude toward the Dolphins for selecting him with the fifth overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft when there were still questions as to whether he could make it back from the injury.
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Esta historia es de la edición December 2020 de Dolphin Digest.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
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To do list
GAME PLAN
Putting the pieces together
Analyzing the 53-man roster
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After an off-season where the Miami Dolphins had daily drama surrounding who would be the quarterback, which coordinator was really calling the plays, and does their number one pick have a limp, went into Foxborough and did something they’ve only done once since 2008.
Xavien Howard worth every penny
The Miami Dolphins were in the news daily during the offseason, but it was mainly regarding starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
Head coach Brian Flores talks about the Raekwon Davis injury, beating New England Week 1, Tua Tagovailoa, Noah Igbinoghene and more
COACH SPEAK
Offensive line an early season concern
PARTING SHOTS
Jaylen Waddle is as advertised
The 2021 first-round pick has been a bright spot for the Dolphins
Can Miami tackle their tackle issues?
The Miami Dolphins currently have a 2020 first-round pick, a 2021 second-round pick, a 2019 second-round pick, and a player who has started 56 games for them over the last four seasons to choose from at right and left tackle.
AROUND THE AFC EAST
The race for the AFC East crown gets started