Getty Images
Dolphins coach Brian Flores made the decision to withdraw defender Tua Tagovailoa in the second half of last Saturday’s game against the Raiders and the transfer to Ryan Fitzpatrick paid off with a victory in the last second.
The win put the Dolphins in a position to secure a playoff spot with a win over Bills this Sunday and Flores did not hesitate before naming Tagovailoa as the starter for that game. It is a decision ready to be questioned, considering how things happened last weekend, but the choice of the first round says that neither this circumstance nor the playoff spot is an additional burden.
“I would say to myself that there is really no extra pressure added,” said Tagovailoa, through Adam Beasley of Miami Herald. “The expectations for me are very high in my performance and in how I go out there and I try to take the guys to victory. Obviously, last weekend, I didn’t play with that pattern. It is more for me to know that we have to go out here and do the work. If you can’t get the job done, it’s up to you. This is not in anyone else. “
Tagovailoa said that communication between coaches and players has been good and that he is confident that everything is being done with “the best interest” of the team in mind. If the team’s interest is another quarterback change that works, Flores will have another call to make in the Wild Card round.