Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa closes in on milestone in must-win game vs. Bills

It could be a momentous night at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday, for more than one reason.

The Dolphins’ “Sunday Night Football” matchup with the Buffalo Bills will decide who wins the AFC East and secures the conference’s No. 2 seed.

And when quarterback Tua Tagovailoa takes the field for his first snap, it will mark the first time in the fourth-year player’s NFL career that he has started every regular-season game.

Tagovailoa said the feat was a goal of his entering the season after durability questions that followed him because of a pair of stints in the concussion protocol in 2022.

“It’s a blessing that I get to play the entire season,” he said after practice Wednesday. “I think anyone would say the same around the league that it’s a blessing to make it this far as healthy as anyone could be right now. Very blessed, very fortunate and I don’t take this for granted.”

With offseason jiu-jitsu training that helped him learn to fall correctly, Tagovailoa has avoided the head injuries that at one point caused him to ponder retirement. In fact, he has mainly gotten through the regular season unscathed. He surfaced on the team’s injury report last week with injuries to his quad and left (throwing) thumb after sustaining injuries against the Dallas Cowboys on Christmas Eve. But he played in Miami’s 56-19 loss against the Baltimore Ravens on New Year’s Eve.

Tagovailoa also injured his left shoulder in Baltimore but was a full participant in practice Wednesday and said his shoulder issue is “good.”

Coach Mike McDaniel praised the work Tagovailoa has done during the week to take care of his body, which includes getting in a cold tub every morning and a regimen with head strength and conditioning coach Dave Puloka that consists of sprints and weightlifting sessions.

“He doesn’t have office hours relative to what needs to be done with his body or his mind,” McDaniel said. “If he’s working out a contusion on his leg, however long that process needs to take, he’s not inching his way out of the door. He’s coming early, staying late. If he didn’t like the way that he executed some plays or if he didn’t like his ownership of the plays, there’s been times that I see his car in the parking lot well after its dark.”

Tagovailoa said he “takes a lot of pride” in playing the entirety of the season.

“But I also take pride in helping our team win,” he added. “And I look back at some of the losses that we’ve had. I wish I could have had some plays back, wish we could have done some things differently. I think those things stick in my brain more than where I’m at right now in the season.”

In the 2023 season, Tagovailoa has set career-best marks for passing yards (4,451), passing touchdowns (28) and completion percentage (69.6 percent).

The Dolphins fell short in a game last Sunday that ultimately decided the No. 1 seed in the AFC, but a victory would give Miami its first division title since 2008. To do so, the Dolphins will have to overcome an opponent that beat them 48-20 in Week 4 and has dominated the matchup in recent years, winning 10 of the last 11 meetings.

“I don’t think I am making this any bigger than what it is,” Tagovailoa said. “I understand that there is seeding at stake if you will, but outside of that, if we continue to prepare the way we’ve prepared and play team football, in which I think is the most important thing for our team in this back half, I think we’ll be fine.”

The Dolphins’ offense was missing several starters in Baltimore, including wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, running back Raheem Mostert and right guard Robert Hunt. All three could return for Sunday’s winner-take-all game. But the Dolphins will still need to avoid critical mistakes after Tagovailoa threw a pair of interceptions and the offense sputtered after its first two possessions.

“I think the most important thing in games like that is that we continue to fight, regardless of what the scoreboard says,” Tagovailoa said. “And in regards to that, what you don’t want to do is make something that’s bad worse. And compounding that with interceptions, the turnovers, you can’t do that.”

Though the Dolphins are three-point underdogs, Miami has been extremely successful at home, posting a 19-3 record in its last 22 games at Hard Rock Stadium. And a win on Sunday would ensure that the team gets a pair of home playoff games in Miami Gardens through the divisional round.

“I think it would mean a lot to the team for us to do that,” Tagovailoa said. “We’re looking forward to the challenge and we’ll be ready.”