Mike McDaniel chides Tua Tagovailoa for risky tackle during first game after Bills concussion
During the Miami Dolphins' Week 2 loss against the Buffalo Bills, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suffered another worrying concussion. It left his body stuck on the ground, with his fingers pointing up.
This was Tagovailoa's fourth concussion since the 2017 season, and many were wondering if he would retire as a result of his most recent one.
In last night's 23-15 win against the Los Angeles Rams, Tagovailoa threw an interception to Rams linebacker Christian Rozeboom, who took over running in Miami's territory.
Looking to stop Rozeboom, Tagovailoa ducked head-first into Rozeboom's lower body and even appeared to get kneed in the head as he made the tackle.
Here is the video of Tagovailoa diving head-first at Rozeboom's knee:
After seeing this tackle, Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said Tagovailoa could use it as a learning experience going forward. He even offered a comical solution for Tagovailoa avoiding putting himself in those situations.
"No, I think the best way to do that is to not throw it to the opponent," McDaniel said. "These are the moments that I can feel the growth from the three years the most. When something doesn't go well, he gets so mad at himself and holds himself to a high standard, but he is also recognizing that he's the franchise quarterback of this team.
"So, you can't go too deep into your own self-lashing. You have to lead, and you have to move on from things good or bad. I thought he did a very good job of taking those Ls, so to speak, and not having it affect his play as he progressed and moved forward through the game. I was very happy with that."
Tua Tagovailoa comments on tackle he made on Christian Rozeboom
Following his head-diving tackle, Tua Tagovailoa said he approached Christian Rozeboom after the game. The quarterback said that he asked Rozeboom why he didn't go out of bounds during his interception.
"I feel good. Everything's good. I went up to that dude that intercepted me. I asked him, 'Bro, you couldn't have just ran out of bounds or cut back?' I was like, 'You saw me and I saw you; you wanted to just run me over?' He told me after the game, he's like, 'There was no room. There was nowhere else to go.' He gotta do what he gotta do to help his team win games. I wasn't planning on using my head to go hit him."
Tagovailoa never appeared dazed or hurt from the tackle. He helped lead the Dolphins to their third win of the season, snapping a three-game skid.
This week, the Dolphins and Tua Tagovailoa will face the Las Vegas Raiders at home at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday. The Dolphins are currently 6.5-point home favorites and will look to make a late-season run.