Dolphins bench Tua Tagovailoa after struggling vs. Broncos

The Miami Dolphins benched Tua Tagovailoa against the Broncos Sunday.

Even with Ryan Fitzpatrick playing very well, the Miami Dolphins made the unpopular decision (for some) to switch to top 2020 NFL Draft pick Tua Tagovailoa.

Tagovailoa played well in his first three starts, but not only that, he helped preserve a winning streak for the Dolphins which reached five games leading up to their matchup against the Denver Broncos.

With the Dolphins winning five straight and the Broncos coming off of two straight losses with young Drew Lock throwing four interceptions last week against the Las Vegas Raiders, it seemed clear that things would keep cruising right along for Tua and the Dolphins.

Until they didn’t.

Even with an early interception from Lock, it was Tua and the Dolphins’ offense that lacked balance and rhythm against the Broncos. It felt like third-down conversions were an historic achievement, while the Broncos’ coverage and pass rush (despite not having their entire starting defensive line) were dominant for the majority of the game.

So dominant, in fact, that Dolphins head coach Brian Flores decided to bench Tagovailoa with a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter in favor of the grizzled veteran Fitzpatrick.

Fitzpatrick got the Dolphins back on the board with a field goal drive immediately, and after the Broncos responded by getting all the way down to Miami’s one-yard line, Fitz-magic had another chance when Melvin Gordon fumbled the football.

He drove them all the way down to the red zone again before throwing a game-ending interception to Broncos safety Justin Simmons.

Even if Fitzpatrick had led the Dolphins to a come-from-behind win, the fact that Flores initially pulled Fitzpatrick for Tua when things were going well for the Dolphins, only to pull Tua when things were not going so well doesn’t make a lick of sense.

Obviously, the Dolphins want to win as many games as possible. They have a legitimate chance to make the playoffs this season and they’ve played well enough as a team to think they could actually make some noise. Preserving that was clearly the priority for Flores but the thought process of taking Tua out of a situation he might be in again next week or even in a playoff situation is ludicrous.

When the decision to make a move at quarterback didn’t affect the Dolphins winning games, it was easily brushed under the rug. Now that their winning streak has been snapped and the stakes are higher with the playoff chase in the AFC ramping up, we’ll see how Brian Flores’ team — and his young quarterback — respond to such an odd decision.