Tua Tagovailoa’s strong play has helped keep the Dolphins’ playoff hopes alive

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Tua Tagovailoa’s teammates have used words like “commanding” and “lights out” to describe the way he has played recently.

The quarterback has had one of the best stretches of his career since he returned from a concussion in Week 8, keeping alive the playoff hopes for the Miami Dolphins.

Tagovailoa threw for 331 yards and two touchdowns — including the winning TD in overtime — to lead Miami to the victory against Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets on Sunday. With the win, the Dolphins (6-7) have the same record as Indianapolis, and they two games back of Denver (8-5) for the final AFC wild card.

“I don’t think two years ago this game occurs,” coach Mike McDaniel said Sunday of Tagovailoa. “He continues to get better. ... It’s a lot of work, and all of his work is paying off because he’s a naturally gifted quarterback, not only the skill sets but people gravitate towards him. He makes people better. That’s an incredibly important part of that position.”

After an up-close look at the way Tagovailoa operates Miami’s offense by throwing with anticipation, Jets interim coach Jeff Ulbrich called him one of the fastest processors in the NFL.

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Tagovailoa’s teammates had just as much praise about his impact.

“He’s been playing lights out. He’s been a great leader for this team, not only on offense but also for defense, getting those guys going,” wide receiver Tyreek Hill said. “We’ve just got to follow him, man, like follow his standard because the standard is the standard, and he’s been playing at a high level and guys around him just got to match it.”

The numbers back up Hill’s words:

Sunday was Tagovailoa’s third straight 300-yard passing performance, joining Dan Marino as the only quarterbacks in Dolphins history to record three consecutive games with that many yards.

Tagovailoa entered Sunday’s game with a league-best 74.5% completion rate. He recorded his seventh straight game with a completion rate of 70% or better, tying the third-longest streak in NFL history.

Going back to Week 10 against the Rams, Tagovailoa has attempted 184 passes without throwing an interception, which is the second-longest streak in his career, and he has thrown at least one touchdown pass in 34 of his last 35 games.

He was 6 for 7 for 67 yards on the Dolphins’ winning touchdown drive Sunday, which he capped with a 10-yard throw to tight end Jonnu Smith.

“He was commanding,” receiver Jaylen Waddle said. “He really made sure we didn’t kill ourselves with penalties. He wanted everybody to lock in and just hone in on the details. That’s was big. He came through, made big plays, was calm in the pocket, o-line had great protection, he delivered the ball.”

What’s working

A big part of Tagovailoa’s growth has been his ability to not force plays down the field that aren’t there. Unlike earlier in his career, he is much more willing to take checkdowns or dump the ball off to running back De’Von Achane or the tight end Smith, who have been excellent this season at gaining yards after the catch.

What needs help

Third down continues to pose problems for the Dolphins. Miami converted just 1 of 9 third-down attempts and are 9 of 35 on third downs in its last three games.

Stock up

Receivers Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill. Hill had his first 100-yard receiving game since the opener with 115 yards on 10 catches. With his 4-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter, Hill has a TD catch in four of the past five games. Waddle caught nine passes for 99 yards that gave him 4,085 in his career — the most in a player’s first four seasons in Dolphins history.

Stock down

The secondary, which allowed a combined 223 yards by Garrett Wilson and Davante Adams and 339 yards passing from Aaron Rodgers. It was just the second time this season that Miami’s defense has allowed more than 300 yards passing. There were also several instances of miscommunication in the secondary.

Injuries

LT Terron Armstead was limited to just five snaps because of a knee injury that he’s been dealing with for weeks. Armstead was visibly frustrated when he came out of the game and was replaced by rookie Patrick Paul. ... LB Anthony Walker Jr. appeared to re-aggravate a hamstring injury that happened last week.

Key number

0 — The number of times Tagovailoa was hit Sunday on 47 pass attempts.

Next steps

Three of Miami’s final four games are on the road, starting at Houston on Sunday.

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