For the first time, the Miami Dolphins' quarterback of the present and future and the other rookie who could have been that guy will be on the same field Sunday.
And say this about next weekend's Tua Tagovailoa-Justin Herbert matchup at Hard Rock Stadium: After Tagovailoa's impressive performance in a 34-31 win at Arizona, there was a precipitous drop in the volume of Dolphins fans who might have wondered whether Miami drafted the right guy in April, with Tagovailoa going fifth overall to Miami and Herbert sixth to the Los Angeles Chargers.
"I was dead wrong about not playing Tua," ESPN analyst and former NFL quarterback Dan Orlovsky tweeted Sunday. "But dead right about how special he is! Looking like Drew Brees+Steve Young out there!"
Tagovailoa's stat line Sunday — 20 for 28, 248 yards, 2 TDs, 122.3 rating and seven rushes for 35 yards — tells only part of the story.
Consider this:
— Of the quarterbacks who rank in the top 10 in all-time passing yardage, plus 10 other top quarterbacks who are still active, plus a few others (Andrew Luck, Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert), only three quarterbacks have thrown at least three touchdowns and no interceptions in their first two NFL starts:
Tagovailoa, Carson Wentz, and Aaron Rodgers, who didn't make his first start until his fourth season.
— With a 103.8 passer rating and 3 TDs and no interceptions through two games, Tagovailoa has exceeded the first two-start performance of Tom Brady (0 TDs, 0 INTs, 79.6, 58.7 passer ratings), Russell Wilson (2 TDs, 1 INT, 62.5 and 112.7 ratings), Lamar Jackson (1,3, 70.1, 58.4), DeShaun Watson (2,2, 75.9, 90.6), Josh Allen (2,2, 63.3, 111.2), Kyler Murray (3,1, 75.2, 90.5), Dak Prescott (0, 0, 69.4, 103.7) and Andrew Luck (3, 3, 52.9, 107.5).
Though Burrow and Herbert have been very good, Tagovailoa has a better passer rating after two games that either of those rookies did. Burrow had 3 touchdown passes, one interception and ratings of 66.1 and 90.6 after two starts. Herbert had 2 TDs, two picks and ratings of 94.4 and 88.0.
— Of the aforementioned top 10 all-time yardage leaders and 15 other very good QBs, the only ones who played as well or better than Tagovailoa in their first two starts were Rogers, Dan Marino (6 TDs, 2 picks, 108.7, 113.9 ratings), Brett Favre, Philip Rivers and Patrick Mahomes (4 TDs, 1 pick, 102.8 rating).
— With the game on the line on Sunday, Tagovailoa was 6 for 8 for 77 yards, one touchdown and a 144.7 rating — plus three carries for 24 yards — on Miami's final three possessions.
— Per ESPN, when Tagovailoa faced four or fewer rushers on Sunday, he was 13 of 14 for 178 yards and a touchdown pass. The 93% completion rate was second-best by a rookie with at least 10 throws over the last 15 seasons.
— Per Pro Football Focus, Tagovailoa was 9 for 15 for 92 yards and a touchdown against Arizona's blitz and 5 for 6 for 60 yards when pressured.
"We saw the real Tua Tagovailoa," ESPN analyst and former Pro Bowl safety Ryan Clark said. "He looked healthy. He looked quick. He can get out of the pocket. That dude is ready."
Even in defeat, Arizona coach Kliff Kingsbury appreciated Tagovailoa's play.
"To go your first road start, regardless of whatever the capacity is, I thought he handled himself really well," Kingsbury said. "He made a lot of plays with his feet. We had a hard time tackling him, getting him down. We had opportunities. He kept drives alive and checked it down and had some big third downs. But to protect the ball like he did and score 34 points on the road, that's a heck of a performance by him."
Teammates also were buoyed by what they witnessed.
"That one scramble where he split those guys was exceptional," center Ted Karras said. "I thought we did a good job in pass protection, but I don't think any moment is too big for Tua. He's a great leader and a great person and really works his absolute hardest and has gained the respect of everyone in that huddle, and we want to go to battle for him."
Tagovailoa credited offensive coordinator Chan Gailey in part for his improvement:
"I think Chan did a great job with getting me comfortable with getting the ball out quickly, looking down field and going through my progression reads as well. Kudos goes to everyone up front with the O-line, the blocking with the backs and all the receivers making plays."
Tagovailoa's own evaluation? "I would say it was a lot better than the Rams game," he cracked.
As for Herbert, he has played very well (17 touchdowns, 5 interceptions, 104.7 passer) but is just 1-6 as a starter, with his team having squandered several big leads.
He has averaged 306.6 yards passing yards per game (most in history for a rookie), compared with Tagovailoa's 175, but game situations and offensive play calls have a lot to do with that.
The Dolphins strongly considered Herbert before the draft — and did a ton of research on him — but one source said a Dolphins front office official told him that Tagovailoa was always their guy, and it would have taken a major development or shift in thinking (such as worrisome news on a Tagovailoa's health) to opt for Herbert at No. 5 instead.
