Tua Tagovailoa put ugly NFL streak behind him | Sports News

Tua Tagovailoa silenced his critics during the Miami Dolphins’ dominant victory over the New York Jets in Week 14 — although the star quarterback will quickly face one other main problem.

Last Sunday, the Dolphins cruised to a 34-10 win over the Jets, pushing Miami’s profitable streak to 4 video games. Tagovailoa delivered a stable if unspectacular displaying within the one-sided matchup, going 13-of-21 for 127 yards, one landing, and no interceptions earlier than giving option to backup Zach Wilson with simply over 4 minutes left within the remaining quarter.

While Tagovailoa’s numbers in opposition to the Jets weren’t spectacular, he achieved enough to put to relaxation an awkward storyline that has shadowed him all through a lot of his skilled profession.

With kickoff temperatures at 41 levels inside MetLife Stadium, final weekend’s contest represented Tagovailoa’s first victory as a starter in situations at or under 46 levels. Coming into the sport, the 27-year-old had gone 0-7 in such matchups.

Addressing the media in a postgame information convention, Tagovailoa tried to attenuate the climate’s significance when questioned about ending his cold-weather shedding streak. “I felt good, but it’s football,” he stated.

“Whether it’s hot, whether it’s cold, you’ve got to go out there and you’ve got to play.”

Considering Tagovailoa grew up in heat areas like South Florida and Hawaii, skeptics have raised doubts about his potential to excel in harsher climate situations. Throughout his NFL profession up to now, questions stay about his potential to carry out in cold situations.

According to the Palm Beach Post’s Joe Schad, the Alabama product holds a 0-5 document in video games when temperatures drop under 40 levels, 1-6 when it is 46 levels or colder, 2-8 when it is under 50, and 4-13 when it is beneath 55.

Tagovailoa, nevertheless, is not making excuses about his cold-weather efficiency. “First things first, it’s going to be cold,” he stated earlier than dealing with the Jets.

“You kind of have that on the top of your mind. Outside of that, it’s a mentality, it’s a mindset. This is what we get paid to do – to play football, regardless of if it’s raining, it’s snowing, it’s sleeting, it’s hot, it’s cold. Regardless, we’ve got to go out there and play and do our jobs.”

During Monday Night Football, Tagovailoa will face one other cold-weather problem when the Dolphins journey to tackle the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Initial climate predictions counsel temperatures at Acrisure Stadium will sit round 18 levels, with wind gusts reaching 16 mph that might create difficulties for each kickers and quarterbacks.

Despite the situations, Tagovailoa emphasised his dedication to taking the sphere. “It’s football, bro,” he stated on Thursday.

“It is what it is. We got to play them in Pittsburgh, whether it’s negative-20, whether it’s 20 degrees. We got to play football.”