Where Tua Will Make a Difference for the Offense

Beyond the obvious of his superior accuracy compared to his backups, there are more subtle ways the Miami Dolphins offense will benefit from the return of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (1) throws the football against the Buffalo Bills during the first quarter at Hard Rock Stadium. / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

The Miami Dolphins are expected to get starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa back against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.

Tagovailoa missed four games with a concussion, and the Dolphins went 1-3 in that stretch, scoring just 40 total points. The Dolphins offense is 26th in total yards per game and 29th in passing yards per game while sitting last in points per game.

To say it’s been tough sledding without Tagovailoa is an understatement, and he’s well aware of how things looked during the last four games.

“It’s been frustrating,” Tagovailoa said during his press conference Monday. “Frustrating for sure, but I’ve tried to stay in it with meetings with the guys, trying to continue to be the leader for guys in multiple position rooms in terms of what we’re looking at, how you can make the quarterback’s job a little easier by doing this, by doing that and then also some nuances within the offense as well, trying to help everyone.”

Miami’s starting signal caller likely won’t solve every problem the offense has. The offense wasn’t exactly clicking when Tagovailoa went down in the first place.

That said, Tagovailoa should solve a fair number of Miami’s offense issues. From small details to the big picture, Tagovailoa’s return should make the Dolphins a functional offense again — at the very least.

Here are three areas he can improve right away this weekend.

Hill and Waddle Production

One of the many reasons for Miami’s recent offensive struggles is the lack of production from star receivers Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill. Hill had just 140 yards on 14 catches without Tagovailoa in the lineup, while Waddle had 119 yards on 13 catches.

Those stats wouldn’t be out of place as single-game lines for Hill and Waddle when Miami’s offense clicks. This past week was the worst example, as the two finished with two catches for 19 yards.

Several factors caused that to happen. The Dolphins wanted to exploit tight end Jonnu Smith’s matchup and run the ball a lot against the Colts. However, backup quarterback Tyler Huntley wasn’t on the same page as Hill and Waddle.

Threading a few plays where I felt like Waddle or Hill should’ve/could’ve gotten a target:

— Dante Collinelli (@DanteCollinelli) October 21, 2024

The Dolphins ran plenty of concepts that got Hill and Waddle open, but Huntley didn't deliver the ball. Many of those were the classic middle-of-the-field in-cutting routes on which Tagovailoa thrives.

Those concepts are based on timing, trust, and footwork, making them hard for backup quarterbacks to execute, especially for one who wasn’t with the team all summer, like Huntley.

 “It’s really tough to ask any of our quarterbacks to come in to do the footwork that we’ve been doing for the past two years, to see fast guys running and seeing the space that’s there and asking them to kind of process all of that,” Tagovailoa said.

“We looked at the film, and we were able to see what we missed and what we could’ve gotten better at, but it’s a team sport. It shouldn’t take one position for this whole thing to crumble. Everybody needs to be on their Ps and Qs as well.”

There were plenty of more traditional concepts where Huntley and Miami’s other backups missed Hill and Waddle, but with Tagovailoa coming back, some of the easy-timing throws should return to the offense.

Generating Explosive Plays

This goes hand in hand with getting Hill and Waddle more involved in the offense again. Last season, the Dolphins were eighth in the NFL in passes completed for at least 20 yards with 59. Through the season's first seven weeks, the Dolphins were tied for third with 28 such passes.

Without Tagovailoa playing much, this season has been a different story.

Miami is last in completions of more than 20 yards with 11. The teams just ahead of the Dolphins are the Cleveland Browns, Tennessee Titans and New England Patriots — three of the league’s most offensively challenged teams.

Tagovailoa is one of the few quarterbacks in the league who can generate consistent explosive plays without holding on to the ball too long. With Tagovailoa out, Miami’s Time to Throw has increased, but it hasn’t led to big plays.

From Weeks 3 through 7, Miami is 18th in time to throw. In Weeks 1 and 2, the Dolphins were 31st in time to throw, with the New York Jets being the only team to get the ball out faster.

Skylar Thompson, Tim Boyle and Huntley were holding on to the ball longer but not generating explosive plays in the process.

Tagovailoa — for whatever you think of his deep ball accuracy — should solve that problem immediately, assuming he doesn’t have to knock off too much rust. Also, with the ball coming out quicker again, the Dolphins offensive line should be more protected.

To be fair to the offensive line, it’s not like they’ve played poorly without Tagovailoa. According to PFF, Miami’s offensive line has allowed the league's fewest pressures (62) so far.

Still, Tagovailoa’s ability to minimize the impact of a pass rush while giving his speedy receivers a chance to make an explosive play is one reason Miami’s offense was so good the last two seasons.

Expect that to return against the Cardinals in Week 8.

Pre-Snap Penalties

The Dolphins are one of the league’s worst teams when it comes to pre-snap penalties. Miami has committed nine false starts, six illegal formations, and five illegal shifts. The real head-scratchers are the latter two.

The league average for illegal formations and shifts is 1.94 and 1.13, respectively. The Dolphins are lapping the league in this area, putting them behind the sticks a lot this season.

Tagovailoa’s return should alleviate some of these concerns. The Dolphins’ offense loves to use pre-snap motion, which usually includes a player heading upfield right on the snap. It has to be timed perfectly to ensure everyone is set and nobody is heading downfield early.

Tagovailoa has mastered that in the last two seasons, allowing the Dolphins to use motion more effectively than pretty much any other team. Against the Jaguars and Bills, Miami’s offense wasn’t flagged for any illegal formation or shift penalties. They were flagged for two illegal formations on special teams, though.

It’s an incredibly small detail, but these penalties have impacted Miami’s offense. With Tagovailoa out, the Dolphins have reduced certain motions.

They still used it against the Colts, but the orbit motions (where a player runs behind the quarterback and running back) and the running starts for Hill and Waddle were mostly absent.

The Dolphins needed to simplify things for Huntley, but getting lined up correctly was a problem even for Thompson during his snaps against the Seahawks.

That necessary adjustment took an important element of the Dolphins' offense and turned it from a strength to a weakness. Tagovailoa’s command of the offense should get things back to normal.