Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa returned to the lineup in Miami’s 16–10 win over the Steelers on Sunday night, and observers noted that he made a couple of risky decisions in the wake of his recent concussion.
Tagovailoa lowered his shoulder and tried to run through defenders for extra yardage on two separate occasions against Pittsburgh, raising questions about whether the Miami quarterback was playing recklessly.
“I wasn’t trying to be Superman or a superhero out there,” Tagovailoa said after the game, per USA Today. “Obviously, I came to the sideline after those plays. Those things that happened are things I shouldn’t be doing.”
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said that Tagovailoa addressed the plays with him on the sideline.
“Immediately the next series after the first time he did it, he was like ‘Coach, I’m sorry. I needed that.’ I was like ‘All right,’” McDaniel said.
“I’m never going to totally encourage that at all. I’m probably going to advise him to slide every time. But when push comes to shove and a guy has the ball in his hands, it’s going to be tough to get him to completely turn it down, although I will try,” McDaniel added.
Tagovailoa’s teammates were nervous about the hits he was taking, too.
“Man, in my head I was like, ‘Get down, boy. Get down,’” wide receiver Tyreek Hill said. “But it shows the amount of pride he has in this game. Just him coming back from that scary injury he had, him diving head first, going against a linebacker. That was crazy. I was like, ‘Let’s go.’”
For the Dolphins to have their best chance to win, they need a healthy Tagovailoa. Even though he escaped unhurt after lowering his shoulder twice Sunday night, his coach and teammates likely will want to see him avoid taking hits in the future.
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