The Miami Dolphins, through 10 games, are a better offense with Ryan Fitzpatrick at quarterback than Tua Tagovailoa.
This is not an opinion.
It's a statement of fact based on all the statistical evidence available.
The Dolphins went 3-3 in their first six games, in large part, because of Fitzpatrick.
They have gone 3-1 in their last four games, in large part, because of their defense and special teams.
With Fitzpatrick on the field, the 2020 Dolphins move the ball more efficiency and score more points — even accounting for Fitzpatrick's propensity to turn the ball over and his well-documented struggles in the red zone.
Dolphins coach Brian Flores surely knows this. And that reality probably factored into his decision to bench Tagovailoa in the fourth quarter of Sunday's loss to the Denver Broncos — a game that was a snapshot of the Dolphins' season-long quarterback dynamic.
"I'm always going to try to do what I feel is best for the team in a particular game," Flores said Monday. "That's how we felt yesterday. That's really it. We couldn't get into a rhythm the majority of the first three quarters. It became a two-score game. We felt like we needed a spark."
They got it — sort of.
With Tagovailoa under center, the Dolphins went three-and-out five times and scored their only touchdown after a defensive turnover gave them a short field.
With Fitzpatrick under center, the Dolphins had more yards in two drives than they gained in Tagovailoa's six possessions and nearly erased a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit — but that rally was undone by a Fitzpatrick interception in the end zone on his final throw of the day.
Flores insists that Tagovailoa will remain the starter going forward, and for a team taking the long view, that makes sense. Tagovailoa is a rookie, and rookies in the NFL struggle more than they soar. Growing pains now should pay off later. At least that's the hope.
But in the meantime, Tagovailoa's performance must improve or the Dolphins will squander their best shot at the playoffs in four years — a fact not lost on players inside the locker room.
Here are the stark numbers that illustrate just how much better Fitzpatrick, a 16-year veteran, has played than Tagovailoa in 2020:
