Dolphins' Tua Tagovailoa has his say on NFL's safety regulations following back-to-back concussions
When Tua Tagovailoa lay on the ground during Thursday Night Football after suffering a blow to the head, not many expected him to return so soon.
Before his return debut after suffering back-to-back concussions, he spoke about what it was like to be a cautionary tale and effectively the face of player safety.
In essence, Tagovailoa doesn't want to be connected to aspects of the game that have changed for player safety. Here's how he put it in an interview with Maria Taylor on "Football Night in America":
"I guess I'm all for player safety, but when I hear guys saying, like ‘Oh, this is the Tua rule’ or ‘This is a rule because of Tua,’ I don't want to be known as that.
"I just want to go out and do good things for my team, help my team win, do whatever I can to help support the guys out there on the field. Because we only have a short span of our 'Prime Time,' if you will."
Top 5 NFL passing yards per attempt
1. Tua Tagovailoa
2. Josh Allen
3. Patrick Mahomes
4. Jalen Hurts
5. Mac Jones
How well did Tua Tagovailoa play on his return?
Heading into the game, some expected Tua Tagovailoa to quickly return to being as sharp as he was to kick off the season. Others expected the quarterback to be jumpy and ineffective.
However, he ended up somewhere in the middle. In his comeback game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, he completed 21 of 35 passes for 261 yards and a touchdown.
Jaylen Waddle, Terron Armstead, Tyreek Hill and Tua Tagovailoa introduced before Dolphins-Steelers kicks off
This stadium erupted for Tua https://t.co/2AQxBAYrPj
Many thought Tyreek Hill would see the biggest jump in production with Tagovailoa's return, but he failed to lead the team in yards. Jaylen Waddle caught four passes for 88 yards and Hill caught seven passes for 72 yards.
For both the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Miami Dolphins, all of the scoring was done in the first half. The Steelers scored 10 points and the Dolphins scored 16.
Pittsburgh made an adjustment at halftime and managed to stop Miami in their tracks, leaving some to wonder if the Dolphins had been figured out. Will other teams be able to copy what the Steelers did?