Tua wins? Try three! Dolphins keep rolling behind Tagovailoa, defense, beat Chargers

Tua Tagovailoa has Xavien Howard and a game-changing defense.

Justin Herbert, meanwhile, does not.

And that right there, friends, is the biggest difference between the rookie quarterbacks, and why the Miami Dolphins reeled off yet another victory Sunday, a 29-21 win over Herbert’s Los Angeles Chargers — Miami’s fifth in a row and third with Tagovailoa as a starter.

A potential shootout turned into a comfortable Dolphins victory when Herbert made a critical mistake:

He tested Howard.

On third-and-12 from Los Angeles’ 45, with the Dolphins up six and the fourth quarter just begun, Herbert through an out-route to Mike Williams.

The ball took too long to get there. Howard wasted no time getting there, jumping the route, grabbing his league-leading fifth interception, and returning it 28 yards.

“It’s always exciting when X makes a play,” said Dolphins rookie running back Salvon Ahmed, who was a revelation in his first career start. “... ‘OK, we need to go punch it in. They got us the ball back. We’ve got to capitalize on it.’”

Added Howard: “It was a great call from the coaches. Great play on the ball. It changed the momentum. The offense ended up scoring. .... I feel like I’m just getting better.”

That’s scary for the NFL, considering he’s two years removed from leading the NFL with seven picks and on track for another Pro Bowl nod (even though the game won’t be played).

And all those interceptions seem to come at the most important moments.

Sunday was no different.

Five plays after Howard’s pick, the Dolphins — and Tagovailoa — basically put the game away.

With all the action going left, Tagovailoa threw across his body back right and found a wide-open Durham Smythe for a two-yard score.

The game, at that point, was sort of over.

It was really over when pressure from defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah hurried and affected Herbert’s fourth-down pass near midfield, ending Los Angeles’ last real chance.

Stats? You want stats?

Here you go:

Tagovailoa went 15-for-25 with 169 yards and two touchdowns.

Herbert completed 20 of 32 attempts for 187 and two scores as well.

Ahmed’s promotion changed the Dolphins’ running game, going for 85 of their 111 rushing yards.

But the numbers didn’t really tell the tale. The Dolphins’ offense wasn’t spectacular Sunday, yet the game was rarely in doubt. It didn’t need to be against a team that has lost 10 of its last 11 games.

The Chargers were a disaster

The Dolphins led 17-7 at halftime because Tagovailoa was better than Herbert, and Miami’s special teams were wayyyyy better than Los Angeles’.

Chargers miscues in the first half:

▪ A game opening blocked punt by Andrew Van Ginkel that resulted in the Dolphins’ second 1-yard touchdown drive in three weeks (Ahmed plunged in for the score).

▪ An offsides penalty on a Dolphins’ field goal attempt, extending Miami’s drive and setting up a 3-yard touchdown pass from Tagovailoa to Jakeem Grant. (Grant led the Dolphins with four catches for 43 yards.)

▪ Poor coverage on two Grant punt returns, the second of which set up Jason Sanders’ 50-yard field goal late in the second quarter.

▪ A misjudged punt that took a Dolphins bounce and backed up the Chargers inside their own 5.

▪ And a false start a handful of plays later.

As a result, the average Dolphins first-half drive began at their own 46, while the average Chargers drive began at the Los Angeles 23.

In truth, however, the lead should — and would — have been bigger if not for a botched snap by center Ted Karras, which came with the Dolphins up 14 and driving.

That was an inflection point in the game, with Los Angeles scoring 14 of the next 17 points, including an 11-play, 68-yard touchdown drive on the team’s first possession of the second half.

But Tagovailoa bounced back, outplayed his draft classmate, and has fans thinking playoffs. The Dolphins win, coupled with the Bills’ loss on a Hail Mary to the Cardinals, has created a logjam atop the AFC East standings. Both Buffalo and Miami have three losses. The Bills have seven wins — one more than the Dolphins — and host Miami in Week 17.

Would the Dolphins be here without Howard? Probably not. And a few weeks back, there were questions about his long-term status with the team. Howard’s name came up in trade chatter, with teams calling about his availability. The Dolphins publicly insisted that they were not shopping the former Pro Bowler, and when the deadline passed, he remained with the team.

And yet, curiously, the Dolphins did not make him available to the media from Oct. 18 until Sunday.

So when he met with reporters after the Chargers win, he knew potentially uncomfortable questions were coming. He even laughed when one did.

“We got a dub today,” Howard said. “That’s what I’m proud about. I’m just going to keep on going, keep on fighting.”

It’s quickly becoming the Dolphins Way.