Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was one of the top stories in the sport on Sunday and leads this review of NFL Week 3.
Pat Mahomes is the NFL’s best quarterback. No one argues that. The question has been, who’s the next best quarterback? That conversation has often centered on Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow and Buffalo’s Josh Allen.
Well, three weeks into the season, Miami Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa has been the NFL’s second-best quarterback — and he hasn’t left much room for debate. Tagovailoa completed 23 of 26 passes for 309 yards, four touchdowns, and a passer rating of 155.8 as Miami stomped the Denver Broncos, 70-20.
The Dolphins are the fourth team in NFL history to score 70 points, and they could’ve established a new NFL record with a field goal, but coach Mike McDaniels opted to have the Dolphins take a knee instead of attempting a 45-yard field goal.
Tagovailoa is the story of Miami’s season.
Through three games, Tagovailoa has completed 71.3 percent of his passes for 1,024 yards with eight touchdowns and two interceptions. He’s averaging 10.2 yards per attempt.
He did all of that without Jaylen Waddle, who missed the game with concussion symptoms. Tagovailoa, the fifth player selected in 2020, has accuracy, poise, and a litany of weapons. McDaniel’s offense is built around a strong running game, but the Dolphins have so much speed that any missed tackle or false step leads to a big play.
Tagovailoa is the man running the show. And he’s put himself in a position for a monster contract extension in the same range as Burrow — if not more. The Dolphins picked up his fifth-year option, but they need to sign him quickly because the price isn’t going down.
Tagovailoa’s concussion history makes his deal a little tricky, but it’s clear that when he’s healthy, he is the league’s second-best quarterback behind Mahomes.
He makes few mistakes and allows his guys to make plays after the catch.
Arizona Cardinals had Dallas Cowboys’ defense on the run
The Dallas Cowboys defense, the league’s most dominant group the first two weeks of the season, played like one of the worst defenses Sunday against Arizona,
Josh Dobbs, the epitome of a journeyman quarterback, completed 17 of 21 passes for 189 yards.
But it was the Cardinals’ running game that helped them thump Dallas, 28-16. The Cardinals rushed for 222 yards and 7.0 per carry as they pushed Dallas around on the line of scrimmage. The Cowboys played as if they had never practiced for the read option.
They yielded runs of 26, 44 and 45 yards. The Cowboys never led, and it makes you wonder if the dominant Cowboys’ defense was more about the New York Giants and New York Jets being poor offensive teams.
Will Brandon Staley hand himself a pink slip?
Sometimes, you wonder if Los Angeles Chargers coach Brandon Staley is trying to get fired.
Seriously.
Who goes for it on fourth-and-1 from your own 24 with 1:51 left? The television broadcast showed the Chargers had an 82 percent win percentage if they punted and an 89 percent chance if they made the first down. They didn’t show the percentage if they failed to make the first down.
The Minnesota Vikings stopped running back Joshua Kelley for no gain.
The risk-reward made it a dumb decision. Clearly, he didn’t take into account the worst-case scenario. The Chargers were leading 28-24 and have a good defense. Staley should’ve punted the ball and relied on defensive stars Joey Bosa and Derwin James to close the game.
Staley is a new-age coach who puts considerable emphasis on analytics. He took it too far Sunday, which nearly cost him a game.
The Chargers’ defense bailed him out, holding the Vikings at bay and allowing the Chargers to get their first win of the season.
“It was fourth down and less than a yard,” Staley told reporters afterward. “They had no timeouts. And I believe in our offense. I believe in our offensive line, our tight ends, our quarterback. I felt like we had a good play for what they would be in, and it didn’t go down. We were protecting four points, not three.
“If it was a three-point play it would have been a different decision. I felt like our defense could play the way it did down the stretch. Again, I’ve got full confidence in our group. It’s your job as a head coach to make sure your team knows you have belief in them. We came here to win. It was a tough road game against a team that made the playoffs, so we were trying to go win the game. I make no apologies for that.”
Ezekiel Elliott showing a spring in his step
Don’t look now, but over-the-hill running back Ezekiel Elliott had his best game since a 92-yard rushing performance against the New York Giants last Thanksgiving.
Elliott, released by Dallas in the off-season, showed there’s some life in his 28-year-old legs, and he’ll get a chance to show Dallas what it’s missing next week at AT&T Stadium. Rhamondre Stevenson ran 19 times for 59 yards for the Patriots, who ran it 40 times for 157 yards in their 15-10 win over the New York Jets.
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It’s clear coach Bill Belichick doesn’t trust quarterback Mac Jones, so his opportunities to throw are limited.
Dallas gave up 222 yards rushing in a 28-12 loss to Arizona. Belichick will test the Cowboys’ run defense, and he’ll give Elliott a chance to slay his former team.
Will Sean Payton lose his team after a 70-point embarrassment?
Sean Payton will never live down the embarrassment of having Miami score 70 points on his team, even though he’s among the best coaches in league history.
How does a team yield a 300-yard passer, a 200-yard rusher, and a 150-yard receiver in the same game? Oh, Payton’s defense also yielded five plays of more than 40 yards and eight of more than 20.
Just so you know, the Broncos yielded 720 yards of total offense.
The winless Broncos are a disaster, and Payton’s biggest task this week is not losing the team. When you’re 0-3 and get embarrassed the way the Broncos did, the players couldn’t have any confidence in the coaches and the coaches can’t have much belief in the players.
His mentor, Bill Parcells, will probably get a call this week.
Kirk Cousins was great vs. Chargers — until he wasn’t
Kirk Cousins did what he does.
He played a fantastic game — 367 yards passing and three touchdowns — before throwing an interception at winning time.
On first down from the Chargers’ 6 with 12 seconds left, Cousins tried to fit the ball into a tight spot at the goal line intended for tight end T.J. Hockenson. The ball bounced off his hands, off a Chargers’ defender, and into the arms of Kenneth Murray Jr.
On the Vikings’ previous drive, he threw a pass short of the end zone on fourth-and-goal from the 2.
Now, Minnesota is 0-3 and the playoffs seem a long way away.
Buffalo Bills commandeer Washington Commanders offense
So much for Eric Bieniemy and Washington’s resurgent offense.
Buffalo shut it down and kept Washington off the scoreboard until the last 46 seconds of the game.
Washington quarterback Sam Howell threw for 170 yards and four interceptions. He had a passer rating of 41.5.
Buffalo sacked Howell nine times and hit him 15 other times.
That’s how you get embarrassed at home.
Young Guns
Houston quarterback C.J. Stroud, the second player taken in the draft, is the best rookie quarterback right now.
Stroud, who passed for nearly 400 yards last week, completed 20 of 30 passes for 290 yards and two touchdowns as the Texans beat Jacksonville, 37-17. Understand, Stroud still doesn’t have anything close to an elite receiver, but he’s spreading the ball around.
Third-round pick Tank Dell, his favorite target, caught five passes for 145 yards and a touchdown.
Rookie watch
De’Von Achane was considered one of the fastest players in the draft. Well, he flashed his superpower in Miami’s rout of Denver.
As if Miami needed one more weapon, Achane gained 203 yards on 18 carries and caught four passes for 30 yards. He had a 67-yard touchdown run to go with runs of 26 and 40 yards.
Stat of the week
4
Indianapolis kicker Matt Gay made four field goals of more than 50 yards as the Colts upset the Ravens 22-19 in overtime. Gay made kicks of 53 and 54 early in the game. Then he drilled a 53-yard kick with 57 seconds left to send the game into overtime.
He won it with a 3-yard kick with 1:09 left in overtime.
Monday Night Football
This is a huge night for Cincinnati and Joe Burrow because they’re 0-2 and he’s been battling a calf strain. The Bengals need him to play well, while not aggravating that injury.
He’s one of the best young quarterbacks in the league, and Cincinnati will win if he plays well. If he has to miss any time with the calf their season could collapse in a hurry.
The Rams are better than advertised, and Matt Stafford gives them consistency on offense. The Rams know what they want to do and they’re capable of scoring points and beating the Bengals.
Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts hasn’t played great, but it has been good enough for the Eagles to win their first two games. A win tonight allows them to keep pace with San Francisco as the two best teams in the NFC.
If Baker Mayfield pulls this one out for Tampa Bay, his career resurrection will continue unabated.
Jean-Jacques Taylor is an NFL Insider for Sportsnaut and the author of the upcoming book “Coach Prime“, with Deion Sanders. Follow him on Twitter.