Tua Tagovailoa Had Sad Message After Dolphins' Loss to Steelers

Tua Tagovailoa got honest on his shortcomings after the Dolphins fell to the Steelers.

Tua Tagovailoa and the Dolphins were officially eliminated from playoff contention with their loss to the Steelers. / Barry Reeger-Imagn Images

The Dolphins’ four-game winning streak came to an end on Monday as Miami fell to the Steelers, 28-15, in a game that wasn’t nearly as close as the score indicates.

Both the Dolphins and Steelers got off to a slow start offensively, but after the Steelers scored a touchdown toward the end of the first half, they followed it up with touchdowns on each of their next three drives. The Steelers built a 28-3 lead by early in the fourth quarter while the Dolphins and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa racked up much of their production during garbage time.

On paper, Tagovailoa’s numbers—22 of 28 for 253 yards, two touchdowns and one pick—look good. However, when the Dolphins needed him in the early parts of the game, he was unable to lead Miami to more than a field goal drive.

Even during the Dolphins’ recent win streak, the team primary relied on their running game and defense. Tagovailoa, who has thrown an NFL-high 15 picks this season, did not reach 200 passing yards in any of the team’s four wins, and that lack of a passing attack showed itself on Monday.

Tagovailoa took fault for some of the team’s execution issues after the game. "I'm pretty disappointed in myself with how ready I got our receiving corps ready," Tagovailoa said. "I kind of felt like I let our guys down."

"We were messing ourselves up really,” Tagovailoa also said. “Just basically every aspect from my communication to the guys, with them getting in the huddle, calling the plays, getting out, guys knowing where to go with their alignments. All of that.”

🎥 Tua Tagovailoa on today's offensive struggles: "We were messing ourselves up really. Just basically every aspect from my communication to the guys, with them getting in the huddle, calling the plays." (@MiamiDolphins) #PhinsUp pic.twitter.com/rZaggnnMAC

— FinsXtra (@FinsXtra) December 16, 2025

Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel refrained from placing all of the blame for the passing game issues on Tagovailoa. “Everyone has to do better. You have to coach better. Passing, a lot of times, people squarely put all the focus on the quarterback,” McDaniel said. “... It’s been a multitude of things the way I look at it. It has to be better for us to be able to win games when you're not owning time of possession or controlling the game on the ground. That limits you a ton. It's not up to standard.”

With this loss, the Dolphins fall to 6-8 on the season and have officially been eliminated from postseason contention. They will close out their season with games against the Bengals, Buccaneers and Patriots.

"It is tough,” Tagovailoa said. “We got to play better ball if we want to win games against good teams. It’s disappointing we didn’t get the outcome we wanted to and everything that goes on with the playoffs. To start the season the way we did—we made it hard on ourselves. We just gotta come in on Wednesday and know we got to get back to work. At the end of the day, it’s about the pride you have for yourself, for the last name on your back, who you are as a husband, who you are as a father, as a son, as a teammate, all of that.”

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