The Miami Dolphins will advance to the AFC playoffs if they win the Buffalo Bills on Sunday in their regular season finale. But they won’t have FitzMagic to appeal if newcomer Tua Tagovailoa isn’t playing winning football as a defender.
Ryan Fitzpatrick, veteran Miami quarterback, tested positive for COVID-19, NFL Network reported on Thursday afternoon when the Dolphins put Fitzpatrick on reserve / COVID-19, making it unavailable for Sunday’s game.
The fifth player chosen in the NFL Draft on April 23, Tagovailoa took Fitzpatrick’s place in the roster in the seventh game of the season and is preparing for his ninth game in the NFL.
In two of those games, Miami coach Brian Flores took Fitzpatrick off the bench, with the Dolphins losing in the second half.
On Saturday, Fitzpatrick took the place of the ex-Alabama All-American with 9:37 am and Miami behind the Las Vegas Raiders 16-13. In a game that featured four leadership changes in the final 3:37, the Dolphins achieved a 26-25 victory.
Fitzpatrick completed 9 of 13 passes for 182 yards with a touchdown and no interception. His 34-yard finish for Mack Hollins with defensive end Raiders Arden Key ripping the QB’s head off by the mask created the winning field goal with one second to play.
“I felt like we needed a spark,” Flores said during his post-game press conference. “Trying to win the game. If we have to go to a substitute pitcher in the ninth, that’s what we’ll do. And then, Fitz, he’s always ready to go, and he came in and moved the ball for us. “
But Flores also said Tagovailoa would start on Sunday, despite Fitzpatrick’s heroism.
“I have a lot of confidence in Tua,” said Flores. “He made a lot of plays for us this year. He made plays today. We felt that we needed a spark the way the game was going, and Fitzy gave it to us. But we have a lot of confidence in Tua. He’s a young player. It is developing. He is improving daily. He is learning from his experiences. And he’ll be better next week. “
Tagovailoa will need to be because, instead of a 16-year-old NFL veteran, his replacement on Sunday will be Jake Rudock, who played in three games and gave five passes to the Detroit Lions in 2017 for the sum of his NFL experience. and out of the Miami training team this season and signed with the dolphins On thursday.
Miami and Buffalo are scheduled to kick off at midday CST on Sunday at Bills Stadium in Orchard Park, New York.
The Dolphins have made the playoffs once in the previous 11 seasons and twice in the last 18 seasons. They have four ways of reaching the playoffs on Sunday.
If Miami beat Buffalo, the Dolphins guarantee a wild card position in the AFC playoffs. Even if they lose on Sunday, Miami will enter the postseason field if the Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns or Indianapolis Colts lose on Sunday. The Ravens play the Cincinnati Bengals, the Browns play the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Colts play the Jacksonville Jaguars on the last Sunday of the 2020 regular season.
The Dolphins do not plan to leave their post-season destiny for another team.
“I would say that for me there is no additional and additional pressure,” Tagovailoa said during his news conference on Wednesday. “I would say that the expectations for me are very high in my performance and as I go out there and I try to take the guys to victory. Obviously, last weekend, I didn’t play with that pattern. It’s more for me to know that we have to go out there and do the job. …
“This is the turning point. Now is not the time to make mistakes and all that. You really need to focus on what you need to do to help the team succeed and win. ”
Buffalo will host a first round game in the AFC playoffs as the AFC East champion. Buffalo will be seed number 2 unless the Steelers beat the Browns and the Bills lose to the Dolphins on Sunday.
Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin has already announced that quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will not play against Cleveland. Tomlin also signaled his intention to “send by air” other important players for the postseason, keeping them off the pitch on Sunday.
Bills may have a similar strategy in mind, but Buffalo coach Sean McDermott is not going away.
“These talks took place today,” said McDermott during his news conference on Wednesday, “and we have a plan. I will maintain this internal plan. …
“We could sit here all day honestly and talk about the pros and cons. At the end of the day, it is, once again, trying to do what is best for our football team and where we are ”.
Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @ AMarkG1.
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