The Miami Dolphins turned to Tyler Huntley to keep their season alive in Week 17 after shutting down Tua Tagovailoa for the day due to a hip injury. According to Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel, it certainly wasn’t the quarterback’s decision to sit out.
“Ultimately he absolutely wanted to play,” McDaniel said of Tagovailoa. “It wasn’t a pain tolerance thing, because he wanted to. That’s not in the equation for him.
“The main thing was that he not only was super susceptible to a much more significant injury based upon that injury if he were to fall in harm’s way, but a major factor was the lack of strength due to the injury, and his inability, as we forecasted, to protect himself and his teammates within the pocket and doing the things that he normally has to do.”
The Dolphins initially ruled Tagovailoa questionable Friday before downgrading him to doubtful on Saturday.
“We were kind of faced with the reality that it was kind of plateauing right then,” McDaniel said. “And then ultimately all the way up until this morning I kind of kept an open mind and a hopeful mind.”
With Huntley at the helm, the Dolphins earned a 20-3 win against the Cleveland Browns that puts them one more win coupled with a Broncos loss away from reaching the playoffs. With the season potentially hanging in the balance next week, McDaniel said he has no idea if Tagovailoa will be ready to make his return in Week 18 against the New York Jets.
“To even begin to forecast this next week is difficult because we were waiting until the last hour,” McDaniel said. “We’ll be hopeful for that as we progress. I can’t even lean one way or the other really. We’ll see what the world has in store for us.”
In 11 starts this season, Tagovailoa has completed 72.9 percent of his passes with 19 touchdowns and seven interceptions. The Dolphins have averaged 24.1 points in his starts and 12 points in five games without him.
However, Huntley provided plenty of reason for the Dolphins to feel optimistic about their chances of winning in Week 18 if their starter is forced to sit out again. The backup completed 22 of his 26 passes against the Browns with a passing touchdown, a rushing touchdown, and no turnovers.
“When I came to the sideline, [Tagovailoa] told me what he was seeing,” Huntley told reporters after the game. “And when I made a play, he was the first one to say something to me. That’s a great teammate right there.”
In the Dolphins’ Week 14 win against the Jets, Tagovailoa finished with 331 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions.