Tua Not Dwelling on his Big Baltimore Game
Tua Tagovailoa will be headed back to the site of his NFL breakout game when the Miami Dolphins play at Baltimore on Sunday, but the MVP candidate isn't getting nostalgic about it.
Tagovailoa tied a franchise record with six touchdown passes in Week 2 of the 2022 season when he led the Dolphins to a remarkable 42-38 comeback victory against the Ravens after the team trailed 35-14 heading into the fourth quarter.
Tua obviously remembers the game, though he most definitely isn't dwelling on it.
"I would say what I remember from that game was it was a hard-fought game," he said during his weekly media session Wednesday. "Our team last year we were able to not let the score dictate how we wanted to finish or how we wanted to continue to play that game.
"Obviously, the result was a win, but it's a new year. They've made some changes to their defense. Same scheme, but then personnel wise, they've moved some guys around, and then they've also acquired some new guys. So, what they've put on film, I mean, they're very sound in the back end. They'll get to you in the front end and then also with with their front seven in the run game, we're gonna have to be on our P's and Q's when it comes to who we're pointing out and what they put on film is they're very physical, so we're gonna have to match their physicality and we'll be ready come Sunday."
The biggest acquisitions the Ravens have made on defense since that Week 2 game last season are inside linebacker Roquan Smith and outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney.
Tua said he didn't watch Baltimore's impressive performance in its 33-19 victory at San Francisco on Monday night, but did see video of it.
"Watching the film, I mean, they played the 49ers well," Tua said. "You don't just show up to a game and and get the amount of turnovers that they had. So we know that they'll be ready for us and we got to be ready for them."
McDANIEL'S TAKE ON TUA' BIG GAME
For his part, head coach Mike McDaniel remembered the game more for the lesson that Tua learned during a more difficult first half than that unbelievable fourth quarter.
Tagovailoa completed 36 of 50 passes that day for 469 yards with the six touchdowns and two interceptions, both in the first half. Tua was 13-for-17 for 193 yards and four touchdowns in the fourth quarter alone, and Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle each finished with 11 catches, more than 170 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
“I think that game was one of the things in the journey and growth that I know Tua got to learn from," McDaniel said. "One of the plays that stands out over the year or two years here over a lot of plays, was the interception he threw throwing to (Jaylen) Waddle in the second quarter, because it was just out of character. So we had a moment on the sidelines. ‘Dude, you’re trying to win the game on every play. That’s not your job.’ And then I think I can be quoted as saying, ‘That interception, don’t do that.’ That’s what I said. And then he didn’t and it was phenomenal.
"But that’s the journey of a NFL quarterback because you have those moments and then another week comes by and you don’t — every game is its own. There’s so many different variables. He had success in the second half. What makes Tua unique, and one of the reasons why I have so much belief and trust in him, is he was more focused on the first half. That’s what occupies his mind. From that game to where we’re at now, he would say to himself there’s been definite highs. You can just look at his numbers. It’s really, really, really hard to play the quarterback position at the level that he plays it at. But there’s also been so many things that’s learned from as well. I feel like that game he was probably let’s say arbitrarily he was 20 years old. Now, I feel like he’s 32. Still in his prime."
The 469-yard outing still stands as Tua's career high, though he came close to matching it in the season opener this year when he threw for 466 yards in the 36-34 victory against the L.A. Chargers at SoFi Stadium.
