Tua's Top Five: Dolphins QB's Best Throws
Tua Tagovailoa is entering a critical season as Miami’s starting quarterback, so with OTAs wrapped up, it’s an excellent time to take a look back at some of the best plays Tagovailoa has made in his career.
This article is part of series highlighting the best five games, throws and runs of Tagovailoa’s career.
To select Tagovailoa’s five career-best throws, we asked two questions. How difficult was the throw? And how much impact did the throw have on the outcome of the game? Tagovailoa’s overall performance in each game was not considered, and obviously this list is highly subjective.
Here’s a countdown of what we consider to be Tagovailoa’s best throws from the past two seasons.
No. 5: 30-yard completion to DeVante Parker vs New England Patriots (2021, Week 1)
This throw easily checks both the difficulty and impact boxes. Tagovailoa made this throw with 14:17 remaining in the third quarter with the score tied at 10 while facing a third-and-8 from his own 27-yard line.
Miami was struggling to create explosive plays to this point in the game, but this throw was the catalyst for a drive ultimately resulting in the game’s go-ahead touchdown when Tagovailoa found Jaylen Waddle for a 3-yard score.
With that said, the throw, and the scoring drive it enabled, wouldn’t have won the game if not for Xavien Howard forcing Patriots running back Damien Harris to fumble inside the red zone, preventing the Patriots from kicking a go-ahead field goal.
Miami couldn’t have won without this throw, but it also wasn’t the most impactful play made during the game.
As for difficulty, the touch and accuracy required to make this throw aren’t easy. It had to be placed perfectly over the head of Patriots star cornerback J.C. Jackson so Parker could high-point the ball and land in bounds.
It’s a tight window throw 30 yards down the field in a critical moment of a road game vs a division rival. Those are the types of throws worth highlighting.
No. 4: 37-yard completion to Devante Parker vs New York Jets (2021, Week 15)
One of the most difficult throws any NFL quarterback can make is a deep corner route against a two-high safety defense. No matter the receiver or the quarterback, there will always be a tight window to squeeze the ball into.
This throw against the Jets is a perfect example of that scenario. Tagovailoa layers this throw perfectly between the two Jets defenders, allowing Parker to make the catch near the end zone.
This throw also requires high levels of anticipation from Tagovailoa. He threw the pass before Parker came out of his break, and it landed perfectly in his hands without him breaking stride.
When it comes to the impact of this throw, it’s not quite as impactful as the No. 5 throw on this list, but it was still important. Miami was trailing 10-0 at this point in the game, and this was their first drive into Jets territory.
After Parker’s catch, Miami eventually would score their first touchdown of the game. Then they outscored the Jets 24-14 the rest of the game, leading to their fifth straight win and bringing their record to an even 7-7.
No. 3: 45-yard completion to Jaylen Waddle vs Tennessee Titans (2021, Week 16)
This throw is tough to rank because it’s one of the most difficult throws Tagovailoa has made in his career, but its impact on the game was basically zero.
This throw is difficult for a lot of the same reasons the No. 4 throw on this list was. It’s a deep corner route with a tight window to fit the ball into. There isn’t a safety over the top of this throw, but the sideline is essentially serving as a second defender on this play.
Tagovailoa’s ability to squeeze the ball into this tight window shows why he’s largely considered to be an accurate quarterback by NFL analysts. However, this throw is also one of the rare occasions where Tagovailoa’s arm strength pops off the screen.
It was just a 45-yard completion but since Tagovailoa threw it from the opposite hash, it ended up accounting for 55.8 yards in the air, which was the longest throw in the NFL that week.
Although this throw is a strong contender for Tagovailoa’s most impressive throw, it didn’t spark the Dolphins' offense the way some of his other throws did, as Miami did not score after Waddle’s catch.
In fact, Tagovailoa fumbled the ball (Liam Eichenberg recovered it) on the very next play, putting the Dolphins behind the sticks, which ultimately resulted in them turning the ball over on downs.
It’s an impressive throw worthy of being included on this list, but it didn’t aid in a Dolphins win or comeback like some of the other throws did, keeping it third on this list.
No. 2: Game-tying touchdown pass to Mack Hollins vs Arizona Cardinals (2020, Week 9)
This throw requires a small trip back in time to the 2020 season when Tagovailoa was making just his second career start and first on the road. The impact of this touchdown pass to Hollins is why it’s so high on the list, but its difficulty shouldn’t be underestimated either.
The Cardinals and Dolphins were going back and forth for pretty much the entire game, with the largest lead never exceeding seven points. This touchdown came with just more than 11 minutes remaining in the game and was the culmination of a 10-play, 93-yard drive that knotted up the score at 31-31.
Miami would go on to win the game with some help from their defense, kicker Jason Sanders, and Arizona kicker Zane Gonzales, who missed a game-tying 49-yard attempt, but none of that would have mattered without Tagovailoa’s touchdown to Hollins.
It represents one of only two games where Tagovailoa led a fourth-quarter comeback. The other came against the Patriots in Week 15 of 2020.
Clearly, the throw was impactful, but it does lose some points for difficulty. It’s just an 11-yard pass with single coverage near the sideline of the end zone. That’s not to say this throw is a gimme. It’s still a tight window throw that requires above-average accuracy and timing to complete.
Still, that drop in difficulty was enough to prevent it from ranking No. 1.
No. 1: 35-yard completion to Jaylen Waddle vs Baltimore Ravens (week 10)
While the throw against Tennessee was the most difficult, and the one against Arizona was the most impactful, this throw against the Ravens is the best combination of the two, which is why it earned the No. 1 spot.
It’s another deep corner route against a two-high defense, meaning Tagovailoa needed to fit another tight window with accuracy, touch and anticipation. We’ve established why this type of throw is worth highlighting already, but this specific one has an added layer of difficulty.
Tagovailoa was battling a thumb injury that was bad enough for then-head coach Brain Flores to start Jacoby Brissett over him on a short week. Eventually, Brissett was pulled and Tagovailoa entered the game with just less than 12 minutes remaining in the third quarter. Neither team’s offense was playing well as Miami led Baltimore 6-3.
This throw, in the waning seconds of the third quarter, served as the catalyst for Miami to extend their lead to 9-3.
The Dolphins ultimately won the game 22-10, so while this throw wasn’t the only reason Miami won, it was instrumental in putting some distance between them and a Ravens team that had a 5-3 record compared to Miami’s 2-7.
Miami already was in must-win mode thanks to its 1-7 start to the season, and Tagovailoa’s throw Waddle played a vital role in keeping its season alive.
