Tua, others get one last impression before deadline
MIAMI GARDENS — As Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa relayed his “don’t not feel wanted” sentiment this past week amid Deshaun Watson trade rumors, he also indicated he pays so little attention to it he doesn’t even know when the NFL’s trade deadline is.
If that is indeed the case and you’re reading this, Tua, it’s Tuesday.
And that means you and the Dolphins have one more game before it’s decision time on Watson or any other moves the Dolphins would like to make until the offseason.
Coach Brian Flores, albeit not sounding overly convincing, indicated Friday that Tagovailoa is the team’s quarterback for the rest of the season, barring injury. But we’ve seen how quickly things can change, especially if it gets ugly in Sunday’s 1 p.m. kickoff at Highmark Stadium as the Dolphins (1-6) take on the AFC East-leading Buffalo Bills (4-2), a team that has dominated Miami in recent meetings.
The Bills go for another season sweep after they crushed the Dolphins, 35-0, on Sept. 19, spoiling Miami’s home opener and any hopes that the team stood a chance this season in the division after starting the year with a one-point victory against the New England Patriots.
“That was so long ago you don’t really try to think about that,” said Dolphins defensive lineman Christian Wilkins. “You just got to have the right approach — a week-by-week basis. Don’t really think about the past and just focus on the present and what we’ve got to do this week.”
Buffalo also shut down the Dolphins’ playoff hopes in 2020, eliminating them with a 56-26 mauling in the regular-season finale in Orchard Park when Miami was in a win-and-in scenario.
The Dolphins have lost their past six games against the Bills, including all five matchups under the direction of Flores.
“That’s a good team. That’s a good playoff team,” said Xavien Howard, Miami’s All-Pro cornerback who also could draw trade interest from other teams but, this past week, expressed his wishes to stay with the Dolphins. “Those [are the] type of teams we have to face if we want to call ourselves a playoff team. That’s the type of talent we have to see.”
It’s not the ideal opponent for Tagovailoa or any other Dolphins to make their final lasting impression on the organization, two days before the trade deadline.
In addition to overcoming the trade-talk distractions, Tagovailoa also now faces the team he was injured against in Week 2. Two drives into the developing beatdown, Buffalo defensive end A.J. Epenesa beat right tackle Jesse Davis on a fourth-down pass rush, drove Tagovailoa to the ground and fractured his ribs. Tagovailoa missed the majority of that game and three ensuing weeks on injured reserve.
Between he and backup Jacoby Brissett, Dolphins quarterbacks were sacked six times last time out against the Bills.
“We let things kind of spiral out of control, and that’s tough for any line to handle,” Davis said. “This game plan moving forward, I feel like we’re in a better spot. I think our communication is better with the O-line, so I think everything is kind of moving forward, which is what we want.”
Adding to the pass protection challenge, the Dolphins’ best pass-blocking running back, Malcolm Brown, was placed on injured reserve this past week after exiting last Sunday’s 30-28 loss to the Atlanta Falcons due to an opening-drive quadriceps injury.
“I feel for Malcolm. That’s a brother. When he goes down, my heart goes out to him in his situation,” said fellow back Myles Gaskin, who will likely see a majority of touches out of the backfield with Salvon Ahmed spelling him. “Just take on that workload, execute and do it for him. We still talk to him about how he sees things when watching film and stuff like that.”
One of the pass rushers the Dolphins will have to contain is former University of Miami standout Greg Rousseau, who had two sacks last time the teams met at Hard Rock Stadium, his old college stomping grounds.
Rousseau Dolphins outside linebacker Jaelan Phillips will be linked for the rest of their careers as the two UM first-round edge defenders that went the same year in the draft, although they oddly never played together. Phillips sat out Rousseau’s stellar 2019 college season off a transfer from UCLA, and Rousseau was a COVID opt-out in 2020, opening up the opportunity for Phillips to shine.
“Throughout this whole journey, I’ve been incredibly proud of Greg,” Phillips said. “He’s an amazing kid, really great guy, genuine guy, so I’m happy for his success, regardless of whether he’s on the opposite team or whatever the situation may be. But he’s the enemy this week, so got to get after it.”