Tua Tidbits: Matchups and Prime Time
The Miami Dolphins' first game with Tua Tagovailoa as their starting quarterback will come against the Los Angeles Rams at Hard Rock Stadium on Nov. 1. The game, scheduled for 1 p.m. Eastern time, will provide a tough challenge immediately going against arguably the best defensive player in the NFL, Aaron Donald.
But there also are some intriguing matchups down the road that very well could end up being playing in prime time, including a battle between the first two quarterbacks selected in the 2020 NFL draft.
The Cincinnati Bengals are scheduled to face the Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium on Dec. 6 for a game also set to kick off at 1 p.m. But it's really not hard to envision that game being moved to the Sunday night prime-time slot to showcase the battle between Joe Burrow and Tagovailoa.
The game currently slated for the 8:20 p.m. start has the Denver Broncos playing the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium, but the Broncos currently are 2-3 and there might not be a lot of national interest in the game if their record doesn't improve very much before Dec. 6.
While we understand the appeal of Patrick Mahomes, the Chiefs already have appeared in four prime-time games so far this season and there might not be much appetite for what, on paper, would look like a fairly lopsided matchup.
While the Bengals are struggling at 1-4-1 and still might have a bad record come December, it's easy to see the appeal of a Burrow-Tua matchup.
Before then, Tua and the Dolphins will face Justin Herbert, the sixth overall pick in 2020, on Nov. 15 when the Chargers come to Hard Rock Stadium.
The insertion of Tua into the lineup also could play a role in the Dolphins' Week 16 schedule.
The schedule was made with five games designed as "to be determined," with two of them being selected to be played on Saturday, Dec. 26 (at 4:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.) and the other three in regular time slots on Sunday, Dec. 27.
The five games are Cleveland at the New York Jets; Miami at Las Vegas; Denver at the Los Angeles Chargers; Tampa Bay at Detroit; and San Francisco at Arizona.
Given that it's the next-to-last week of the regular season, playoff implications should factor heavily in what games get played Saturday, with the decision expected a few weeks ahead of time.
But given Tua's national appeal — think about all his endorsements and the "Tua" documentary that was televised by FOX — it's easy to see the Dolphins-Raiders game getting picked if all things are equal, or close to equal.
