Kelly: Time for Tua to Create His NFL Legacy

If Tua Tagovailoa can lead Miami to wins over the Ravens and Bills in the next two games he'll likely become front-runner for NFL MVP honors

I banged the “Tank for Tua” drum all of 2019, and even kept the beat going when Tua Tagovailoa suffered his career-threatening hip injury.

Before Tagovailoa was gifted the Miami Dolphins' starting quarterback job in 2020, I predicted he’d struggle in the early years of his NFL career but in 2023 we’d see the rise of Tua, and his performance would usher in a new era, one where he’s viewed as an NFL elite because he’ll have seen every defense the opposition could throw at him.

Tagovailoa’s statistics the past two seasons, while leading one of the NFL’s most potent offenses, make me look like a Nostradamus, but the portfolio-establishing wins are missing from his resume.

Time for a big win

I don’t want to hear anything about his fourth-quarterback comeback win against Baltimore last season because the stakes of that game were meaningless.

It’s cute that Tagovailoa just led Miami to his eighth fourth-quarterback comeback victory Sunday, marching Miami downfield for a game-winning field goal that went through the uprights as the clock expired in that 22-20 win.

But a cute performance doesn’t make you a legend, it doesn’t warrant an elite legacy.

Leading Miami to a road win over the Lamar Jackson-led Baltimore Ravens on Sunday and then following it up with a win over the Josh Allen-led Buffalo Bills the following week in the home finale, locking up the franchise’s first AFC East division title and the No. 1 playoff seed in the AFC, is how you become a legend.

And that’s just the starter kit of what needs to be accomplished in the next two months because anything short of reaching the Super Bowl for this talented but at the moment injury-hampered team would be a disappointment.

Everything isn't perfect

I understand that four backup offensive linemen were in the starting lineup last week against Dallas, and might be holding down the line this week if Austin Jackson (oblique) and Robert Hunt (hamstring) aren't cleared to play.

And I’m aware that Tyreek Hill (ankle), Jaylen Waddle (ankle) and Raheem Mostert (likely his knee), the team’s top three weapons, are all nursing or playing through troublesome, if not painful injuries.

But elite quarterbacks raise the tide. 

Elite quarterbacks elevate the talent on the team around them. Tagovailoa, who owns a 32-17 win-loss record, has done that his entire NFL career. But he’s fallen short plenty when the stakes get raised and the volume gets turned up on the pressure he and his teammates are under.

Maybe he wasn't ready against Philadelphia, Kansas City and against Tennessee. Maybe those losses are meant to serve as fuel for this moment right here.

This is the time.

This two-game stretch is where the legend of Tagovailoa begins, and if he’s going to walk through the fire — or walk on molten lava like his Polynesian ancestors did for harvesting rituals — Tagovailoa needs to produce the type of signature wins that set his team up for success.

And those wins could potentially set him up to win the NFL’s MVP honors.

MVP honors are within reach

This two-game stretch feature will feature three of the front-runners for the league’s top honor in Tagovailoa, Jackson and Allen.

Everyone else — Patrick Mahomes, Brock Purdy and Jalen Hurts — each has had his struggles in troubling late-season losses. Tagovailoa needs to avoid that. 

The nation might be a prisoner of the moment right now, riding the Jackson wave after the way his Ravens just dismantled the San Francisco 49ers in that 33-19 beatdown, which took place in San Francisco.

Respect for Jackson, who won the MVP honors in 2019, is certainly due.

But imagine what could happen if Tagovailoa outperforms him in a win Sunday, one that sets up the season finale against Buffalo as a winner-take-all between Miami and Buffalo.

And I do mean ALL.

The legacy Tagovailoa has been destined to create is right there for the taking, and I’m convinced we’ll be witnessing the birth of a legend.

The Dolphins Playoff Picture After Week 16