NFL analyst labels Dolphins' Tua Tagovailoa “careless” in return from concussion
Tua Tagovailoa's quick return from back-to-back concussions surprised many fans who saw him get injured on Thursday Night Football.
Some expected the quarterback to be jumpy in the pocket on his return, while others expected him to put up dizzying numbers. While he endured a decent return, one NFL analyst called him "careless" in how he handled the football.
Speaking on "Sunday Night Football Final," Chris Simms claimed the Miami Dolphins star could have easily had almost half a dozen interceptions. Here's how he put it:
"There were some careless decisions we saw from Tua and it was at least four to five dropped interceptions you saw there. [Cameron] Sutton drops it, [Terrell] Edmunds drops it down the middle cover to safety there.
"Here's a careless throw by Tua behind him, a little off target that could have been intercepted."
Top 5 NFL passing yards per attempt
1. Tua Tagovailoa
2. Josh Allen
3. Patrick Mahomes
4. Jalen Hurts
5. Mac Jones
Simms went on to explain that the Dolphins' offense ran out of juice in the second half:
"So again, he did a lot of good things but we saw this offense stall out and I think more importantly, we saw Pittsburgh make the right adjustments on the defensive side of the ball and the second half to kind of slow things down."
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How did Tua Tagovailoa's performance compare to his other games?
In terms of completion percentage, Tua Tagovailoa's 60 percent mark was his second-lowest of the season. With 261 yards, his performance on Sunday Night Football ranked second-to-last in terms of yardage.
His one touchdown throw matched what he did in two other games and beat what he did against the Cincinnati Bengals when he threw for zero touchdowns. It was in that game that he suffered his infamous injury.
It was his third game of the season in which he avoided throwing an interception. While it wasn't his worst game of the year, Tua Tagovailoa's production against the Steelers was a far cry from his lone great performance.
It came against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 2 when he threw for six touchdowns, two interceptions, and 469 yards.