Huntley's Great Performance and the Questions It Raised

Tyler Huntley had the best performance by a Miami Dolphins backup quarterback in a long time

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tyler Huntley (18) scores a touchdown as Cleveland Browns linebacker Devin Bush (30) pursues during the second half at Huntington Bank Field. / Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

The big story coming from the Miami Dolphins' Week 17 victory against the Cleveland Browns was the stellar performance from quarterback Tyler Huntley, a performance that was equal parts impressive and stunning.

It was not only a good performance for a backup quarterback forced into a start because of an injury, it was a performance every bit as good as a team could want from its starter.

There are all types of ways to illustrate just how impressive Huntley was, from his 115.5 passer rating, to a Pro Football Focus grade that was the highest for a Dolphins quarterback this season, all the way to Huntley becoming the first Miami quarterback since Jay Fiedler in 2003 to pass for at least 225 yards, complete at least 80 percent of his passes, not throw an interception, and pass for a touchdown and rush for a touchdown.

Yes, this was great work by Huntley, whose previous three starts had provided no indication he was capable of operating the Dolphins offense to that level.

It did also bring up some pertinent questions?

WHERE WAS THIS HUNTLEY EARLIER THIS SEASON?

The first obvious question is why Huntley couldn't have performed to that level — or anything close to it — in his first three starts of the season when Tua Tagovailoa was on injured reserve because of his concussion.

In those three games, Huntley never completed more than 63.6 percent of his passes, with a low of 53.9 percent in his third start against the Indianapolis Colts before he left that game in the third quarter with a shoulder injury.

Huntley did show signs of coming around in that Indy game, though, because the Dolphins scoring only 10 points with him before he left was more about the offense committing two penalties or more on two drives and Raheem Mostert losing a fumble in the third quarter.

Huntley had an impressive 100.5 passer rating before leaving with the score tied 10-10, and it's fair to wonder whether the 16-10 loss that now looms so large in the Dolphins' playoff outlook might have turned into a victory had Huntley been able to finish the game.

To be sure, Huntley is more comfortable in the offense now than he was in October after joining the team in mid-September after Tagovailoa was put on IR and that's bound to help, but this still was like a career performance — the 115.5 passer rating was a career best and the 225 passing yards his second-highest total.

WHY WAS HUNTLEY NOT SIGNED BEFORE?

Huntley's passing performance against the Browns on Sunday no doubt was what head coach Mike McDaniel hoped and/or envisioned for Skylar Thompson once he decided to roll with him as the backup to Tagovailoa heading into the 2024 season, but Thompson never did come close to that before this season or after this season began.

And while Huntley's skill set makes him better suited for an offense like that of the Baltimore Ravens, for whom he served as Lamar Jackson's backup for four seasons, his performance against Cleveland begs the question of why the Dolphins couldn't see he'd be a better option as Tua's backup from the start.

After all, it's not like Huntley wasn't available either in the offseason before he signed with those same Cleveland Browns as a free agent or after training camp when the Browns waived him in favor of, gulp, Dorian Thompson-Robinson as the third quarterback behind Deshaun Watson and Jameis Winston.

The Dolphins carried three quarterbacks on the 53-man roster two years ago; wouldn't it have made sense to pick up Huntley to at least supplement Thompson as a backup when he was there for the taking at the end of August?

Yes, we're guilty of playing the results a bit here — OK, a lot — but it clearly didn't take McDaniel very long once Huntley joined the roster to realize/decide he was the better option as the second quarterback.

WHAT DOES HUNTLEY'S PERFORMANCE MEAN GOING FORWARD?

If nothing else, Huntley's game against Cleveland should give the Dolphins a lot more confidence heading into the must-win game against the New York Jets if it ends up that Tagovailoa has to miss another start because they've seen what the passing game can look like with him.

The flip side is there are no guarantees because it's not like Huntley has a proven track record of consistent success as a backup quarterback — yes, even despite his Pro Bowl selection, which came when he was selected as the 27th alternate with four starts for Baltimore. The challenge will be for him to show some consistency.

It's why we hesitate to declare Huntley the answer as we look ahead to 2025 and the neverending quest for a dependable backup quarterback given Tagovailoa's injury history.

The Dolphins approached Huntley's agent about bringing him back next season, according to The Miami Herald, and there's no issue with that from here, as long as other avenues are explored. We'd even advocate bringing another veteran quarterback, whether it be a Jimmy Garoppolo, Joe Flacco or Andy Dalton, to provide additional competition.

The idea is the Dolphins never find themselves again in a situation like the one they went through earlier this season.