Tua Tagovailoa landed a haymaker on his critics in Week 15 by thriving without Tyreek Hill.
It was a big win for the Dolphins quarterback, both in score and in statement. He completed 21 of 24 passes for 224 yards and a touchdown in Miami's runaway win, accounting for 77.2% of Miami's 290 yards of total offense, and connected with Jaylen Waddle on a majestic 60-yard touchdown pass midway through the second quarter that gave him an obvious boost in confidence.
For the first time in ages, folks were forced to acknowledge that Tagovailoa could get the job done without Hill. Sure, it came against the Jets, but putting 30 points on New York's defense is no small feat. And after the Dolphins struggled plenty without Hill for roughly two quarters in their Week 14 loss to Tennessee, their Week 15 showing stood as a resounding response.
"I would say it is always tough when you don't have one of your best guys out there," Tagovailoa said Wednesday, via ESPN. "To me, I personally say none of us really cares who's out there or who's not. At the end of the day, whoever's in there, we all trust that we can get it done with those people. Even when I wasn't in there last year, that was the mindset that those guys [had].
"We've got to go out there. We've still got to play. [Our opponents] don't care that Tyreek's out. Those guys didn't care that I was out last year. It doesn't matter. We got to go out there and play. And I think that should tell you a lot about the guys that were out there."
The guys that were out there handled the task quite well. Raheem Mostert ran for two touchdowns, Miami's defense routinely provided their offense with shorter fields, and the Dolphins capitalized, scoring on six of their 10 possessions.
Most importantly, Tagovailoa was able to find plenty of passing success without his top weapon, compiling an indisputably efficient performance.
The NFL's passing leader could point to his numbers alone as proof of his skill. But he's not concerning himself with the opinions of those housed outside of the Dolphins' facility. As long as Miami continues to win, the rest is irrelevant.
"Everyone wants to make this about me, about Tyreek -- please, keep pushing it to Tyreek. Make it about Tyreek," Tagovailoa said. "I understand that my platform and who I am in this league as a quarterback makes me polarizing. Whether I'm the best, whether I'm the worst, I [couldn't] care less. I don't listen to it. ... At the end of the day, I really don't care. But if [Dolphins communications] does share it with me, I mean, I keep receipts. We all have a way of how we do things, but all the narratives about it -- yeah, sure. I am only good with Tyreek, you're right. That is the only time I'm at my best.
"You're right, I'm only good when Jaylen [Waddle] is in. I couldn't care less about it. Sure ... I'm only as good as Raheem Mostert allows me to be. That's what the narrative needs to be. And we're able to win games and we're able to go where we want to go as a team. I am the worst football player if that's what you want. I don't care. I really don't. So, whatever it is, whatever you need on your show, take clips out of what I just said. Do it. Do what you need to do. I'm just here to do my job, and my job is to help our guys win games."
So far, Miami has won 10 games. They have three massive matchups -- Dallas in Week 16, a road game against Baltimore in Week 17, and a home game against AFC East rival Buffalo to close out the regular season -- left to play, with plenty of opportunity to prove Tagovailoa right. Hill may or may not be available, starting this weekend.
Whether Hill can play doesn't matter to Tagovailoa, though. He's not going to change, aiming only to continue winning.
