What Tua Tagovailoa and the Miami Dolphins have done through the first five weeks of play is unprecedented. Coach Mike McDaniel has this scoring attack putting up historic numbers, helping them achieve the title of having the best offense in the NFL.
Not only do the Dolphins have the most yards through five weeks in NFL history, but Tagovailoa is also on a record pace.
Tagovailoa enters Week 6 with 1,614 passing yards, which is 116 more yards than any other QB this season. The Dolphins’ QB’s pace has him on track to set the new single-season passing yardage record, breaking the mark held by Peyton Manning, who threw for 5,477 passing yards in 2013 with the Denver Broncos.
Meanwhile, Tagovailoa is on pace for 5,487 passing yards, putting him just past Manning’s record. As long as Tagovailoa can maintain his current momentum, averaging 322.8 passing yards per game, he’ll hold his own place in NFL history.
But Tagovailoa really doesn’t care about setting records, or if he does, he’s playing it cool. Here was his response when asked what it would mean to break Manning’s record.
“That would definitely be cool. If we don’t get to where we want to as a team, none of that would mean anything to me. But along the way, if we could get to where we want to get to as a team, and those statistics could follow in helping win games, I’d be very happy.”
Tua Tagovailoa on his thoughts about being on track to break Peyton Manning’s passing record
Tagovailoa leads the NFL in several passing categories this season. There’s no doubt he’s one of the best QBs in the NFL, but the biggest question about his longevity still points to durability questions. After being available for 13-of-18 games played by the Dolphins a season ago, Tagovailoa is taking the fewest sacks of his career, getting sacked on just 3.5 percent of his dropbacks. This is a noticeable reduction from past seasons, where Tagovailoa was sacked on 6.5 percent of his attempts as a rookie before improving to a rate of 5 percent last season.
By all accounts, Tagovailoa is having a historic season, but can he keep it up? If so, he’ll hold a special place in NFL history.
Related: See where Tua Tagovailoa lands in Sportsnaut’s NFL QB rankings