One Big Change Likely Coming with Tua

Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa's return to the lineup likely will affect coach Mike McDaniel's approach and play-calling

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (1) talks to head coach Mike McDaniel during training camp at Baptist Health Training Complex. / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

The return of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to the Miami Dolphins lineup almost assuredly will make for a more efficient offense.

It also very well might have another significant effect: bringing back Mike McDaniel's aggressive nature.

There are two clear aspects where this should play out: going for it on fourth down more often, and throwing the ball in short-yardage situations.

This is not something that head coach Mike McDaniel ever would admit, but it's not a bold take to suggest his approach and aggressiveness level changed drastically when he went from having Tagovailoa at quarterback to having Skylar Thompson, Tyler Huntley or Tim Boyle — and the Dolphins certainly deserve some (a lot of?) criticism for having left themselves in that spot, but that's a different story.

GOING FOR IT

The latest, and maybe most glaring example, of McDaniel going a more conservative route came in the fourth quarter of the 16-10 loss against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.

With Tim Boyle as his quarterback, McDaniel went for a 54-yard field goal attempt — clearly not a gimme despite the high degree of success around the NFL from long distance this season — even though a make by Jason Sanders only would have tied the score 13-13 with Indianapolis getting the ball back with a little over five minutes left.

We all know what happened: Sanders missed the kick, the Colts drove down for a field goal and the Dolphins were left with having to score a touchdown with 1:55 left and no timeouts.

While the defense had a good outing, it's an offense-driven league so playing for the stop always is a dicey proposition. As proof, the Colts marched 36 yards for their last field goal, and 36 yards from the 30 means they would have been in position to kick a 52-yard field goal for the win under those circumstances with the hypothetical of Sanders making the field goal and then a touchback.

But let's be honest here: Do we really think that McDaniel would have taken the same approach with Tagovailoa and wouldn't have tried to get the first down and ultimately look for a touchdown to take the lead, not tie the score?

The other glaring example came at the start of the Seattle game when Thompson in the Dolphins' first game of 2024 without Tagovailoa.

After Seattle kicked a field goal on the first drive of the game, the Dolphins came right back and got to the Seahawks 39 before they faced a fourth-and-1.

McDaniel had Sanders attempt a 57-yard field goal instead of going for the first down. We ask again: Do we really think the Dolphins wouldn't have kept the offense on the field with Tagovailoa at quarterback?

BRINGING THE PASS BACK TO SHORT YARDAGE

The Dolphins got off to a great start in short-yardage situations this season, converting their first four third-and-1 situations, all of them coming on run (three by fullback Alec Ingold, one by De'Von Achane).

But that's gone south since then, with the Dolphins converting only 3 of their past 7 third-and-1s, in addition to failing on both of their fourth-and-1 attempts.

What hasn't changed is the method, with Miami going to the run exclusively on third-and-1 or fourth-and-1 season. Yes, exclusively. As is, not one pass attempt.

That's a drastic change from last season when the Dolphins called for exactly the same number of passes as runs (16) on third-and-1 and actually more passes (6-5) on fourth-and-1.

The success rate wasn't particularly good last year, either, though. The Dolphins were a paltry 10-for-23 on third-and-1 and an unimpressive 4-for-7 on fourth-and-1.

After going 1-for-2 against the Colts in Week 7, the Dolphins now are 7-for-13 on third-and-1/fourth-and-1 situations, which still isn't good enough.

But maybe it's time to change a bit and actually put the pass back into the equation, even if not to the same degree as last year, and that's where Tua comes in. And while the offense overall struggled in that game plus three quarters he was in the lineup early in the season, at least the Dolphins were good in short-yardage.

And maybe the reason is that opponents respected the threat of the pass a lot more than they did once Thompson, Huntley and Boyle got into the lineup.

And, of course, maybe now McDaniel will be looking to try something different the next time a third-and-1 comes up because the success rate lately simply hasn't been good enough.

So it's not just about the quicker decisions and better accuracy that Tagovailoa will be bring back to the offense that could and should make a difference. His return also likely will bring back the bolder Mike McDaniel.