For much of Sunday’s Christmas Day home game against the Green Bay Packers, the Miami Dolphins seemed in control. They led 20-13 at the half, and had their offense rolling for many parts of the game. But quarterback Tua Tagovailoa threw interceptions on the Dolphins’ final three drives, and that led to Miami losing 26-20. Here’s that last, game-deciding interception from Tagovailoa (seen above earlier in this contest):
Tua Tagovailoa was intercepted on the Dolphins' final three drives. Here's the final pick he threw in Miami's 26-20 loss to Green Bay. pic.twitter.com/vnzryeiDIN
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) December 25, 2022
That interception looks particularly bad, with it not even getting close to a Miami receiver. And it adds to what wasn’t a great day for Tagovailoa overall. He finished the day with 16 completions on 25 attempts (64 percent) for 310 yards with one touchdown and those three interceptions.
Oddly enough, Tagavailoa (seen above earlier in this game) had only thrown five interceptions on the season until Sunday. And that was against 24 touchdowns and 3,238 passing yards (with a 64.8 percent completion mark). So Sunday’s game was a significant downturn for him.
And this downturn came at a bad time, too. This marks the fourth-straight game that the Dolphins have lost, following losses to the Buffalo Bills, Los Angeles Chargers, and San Francisco 49ers. They’re still 8-7, and slightly ahead of a logjam of 7-8 teams (the New England Patriots, New York Jets, Tennessee Titans, and Pittsburgh Steelers) for the seventh and final AFC playoff spot. But there are lots of questions about if they’ll be able to hold on to that spot, and Tagovailoa’s struggles here certainly gave those other teams a boost.
[NFL.com; photo from Sam Navarro/USA Today Sports]
