The Miami Dolphins are preparing to have Tua Tagovailoa return as the team’s starting quarterback for their Week 7 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, head coach Mike McDaniel told reporters Monday.
Tagovailoa resumed football activities last week and cleared concussion protocols on Saturday, but remained inactive during Sunday’s loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
"The plan is for him to approach the game as the starter," McDaniel said. “He'll be able to get those reps on Wednesday… we felt really good about how he was able to get back on the field."
Tagovailoa last had a full week of practice in Week 3 and has been inactive since being carted off the field with a concussion on September 29.
The Dolphins jumped out to a 3-0 start this season, and their third-year quarterback appeared on his way to a career year. Miami is 0-3 since, and McDaniel is hoping that having Tagovailoa under center again will help the team find its way back in the win column.
"He's a captain. He's a captain for a reason, and as I've told you guys from the onset, I think he's a very, very good player at that position," McDaniel said. "So very good players, they definitely give people a boost – not because of what other people aren't but more just because he is who he is.
"So he's a strong fabric of this team, and that's exciting when you get to go play with one of your brothers, which is why the team will be excited, and it will be exciting."
Tagovailoa’s first injury of the season came on September 25 when he took a hit from Buffalo Bills linebacker Matt Milano and appeared to hit his head on the ground. He stumbled when he got up and was immediately taken to the locker room to be evaluated for a concussion.
He returned to the game shortly thereafter and was not in the concussion protocol the following week, despite questions about why he was allowed to return to the game after displaying motor impairment.
Just four days later, Tagovailoa was slammed to the turf by Cincinnati Bengals lineman Josh Tupou in a startling scene that has left many to question the NFL's efforts to minimize head and neck injuries, and led to the league altering their concussion protocol to prevent a similar situation from happening again.
Both injuries occurred after Tagovailoa extended plays outside the pocket.
"There's risks in this game and you've got to be able to control the controllables," McDaniel said. "One thing for him is you love his competitive nature, but there is a time in a play where you have to kind of concede, and that's where he's kind of been focusing on because it's something that's not natural to him.
"He wants to break every tackle, and he doesn't like when plays don't work. Well, sometimes they won't.
"So that's something that he's mindful of, and I think that that's a consistency of all the really great quarterbacks that you think of, the guys that you look up to, the guys that kind of set forth the example of how to play the position, they do find ways to be available.
"Part of that is that concession, but that is – all things considered, that's probably a good problem to have in terms of a competitor. You just need to be able to understand your importance to the team and how sometimes the best play you can make is a throwaway."
NFL: Chiefs stay perfect with OT win over Bucs
Kareem Hunt finished the game's lone overtime drive with a 2-yard touchdown run that kept the Kansas City Chiefs unbeaten with Monday's 30-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Hunt powered into the end zone to conclude the 10-play, 70-yard series that gave Kansas City (8-0) its 14th consecutive victory, including play-off games, dating back to last season. The veteran running back finished the night with a season-high 106 rushing yards on 27 carries.
Patrick Mahomes threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns, including two to DeAndre Hopkins in the wide receiver's first home game as a Chief, to help the defending Super Bowl champions stay perfect despite the Buccaneers forcing overtime on Baker Mayfield's 1-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Miller with 27 seconds left in regulation.
Tampa Bay (4-5) opted to kick the extra point instead of attempting a potential game-winning two-point conversion, however, and never got the ball back again after losing the coin toss to begin overtime.
The Bucs trailed 10-7 at half-time following Mahomes' 1-yard touchdown pass to Hopkins late in the second quarter, but scored 10 unanswered points in the third quarter to move ahead.
After Mayfield found Cade Otton for an 11-yard touchdown pass early in the period for a 14-10 lead, Tampa Bay's defence forced a three-and-out to help set up Chase McLaughlin's 47-yard field goal with 5:50 left in the third.
The Chiefs stormed back with a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns, however. Mahomes capped a 12-play, 70-yard drive with a 7-yard touchdown delivery to Samaje Perine to tie the game at 17-17, then later hit Hopkins for a go-ahead 5-yard strike with 4:17 remaining in regulation.
Kansas City's next possession stalled, though, to give Mayfield enough time to orchestrate a 10-play, 71-yard sequence that ended in Miller's tying touchdown grab.
Mayfield finished 23 of 31 with 200 yards and two touchdowns. Otton led the Bucs with 77 receiving yards on eight catches, while Rachaad White had a rushing touchdown for Tampa in the first half.
The Chiefs received 14 catches for 100 yards from Travis Kelce and 86 yards on eight receptions from Hopkins, playing his second game since being acquired by Kansas CIty from the Tennessee Titans on Oct. 24.
Cowboys quarterback Prescott reportedly expected to miss multiple weeks with hamstring injury
The path to the play-offs is now even tougher for the Dallas Cowboys.
Quarterback Dak Prescott will reportedly miss several weeks with a hamstring injury sustained in Sunday's 27-21 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
The severity of the injury was determined following an MRI, and reported Monday from multiple media outlets.
Prescott is planning to get a second opinion, and the Cowboys have not decided if they will place him on injured reserve, which would keep him on the sideline a minimum of four games.
Prescott, who signed a record-breaking, $240million contract hours before this season's opener, suffered the injury late in the third quarter.
He was replaced by Cooper Rush, and the seven-year backup will get the start this Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Rush completed 13-of-25 passes for 115 yards and a touchdown against the Falcons, but couldn't rally Dallas all the way back.
The Cowboys ended up losing their third straight game to drop to 3-5, which matches the total number of losses the team had each of the last three seasons.
They now sit in third place in the NFC East, 3 1/2 games behind the division-leading Washington Commanders.
Rush has found some success as a fill-in starter for the Cowboys, though, the 30-year-old hasn't been forced into the starting role since 2022.
In six career starts for Dallas, he's gone 5-1 with 1,281 passing yards with seven touchdowns, four interceptions and an 83.6 rating.
There is some good news for the Cowboys, though, as star defensive end Micah Parsons is likely to return this Sunday after missing the last four games with a high-ankle sprain.
Cowboys quarterback Prescott expected to miss multiple weeks with hamstring injury
The path to the play-offs is now even tougher for the Dallas Cowboys.
Quarterback Dak Prescott will reportedly miss several weeks with a hamstring injury sustained in Sunday's 27-21 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
The severity of the injury was determined Monday following an MRI.
Prescott is planning to get a second opinion, and the Cowboys have not decided if they will place him on injured reserve, which would keep him on the sideline a minimum of four games.
Prescott, who signed a record-breaking, $240million contract hours before this season's opener, suffered the injury late in the third quarter.
He was replaced by Cooper Rush, and the seven-year backup will get the start this Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Rush completed 13-of-25 passes for 115 yards and a touchdown against the Falcons, but couldn't rally Dallas all the way back.
The Cowboys ended up losing their third straight game to drop to 3-5, which matches the total number of losses the team had each of the last three seasons.
They now sit in third place in the NFC East, 3 1/2 games behind the division-leading Washington Commanders.
Rush has found some success as a fill-in starter for the Cowboys, though, the 30-year-old hasn't been forced into the starting role since 2022.
In six career starts for Dallas, he's gone 5-1 with 1,281 passing yards with seven touchdowns, four interceptions and an 83.6 rating.
There is some good news for the Cowboys, though, as star defensive end Micah Parsons is likely to return this Sunday after missing the last four games with a high-ankle sprain.
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