Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, one of the few NFL quarterbacks to have remained healthy all season long, missed both games in 2022 against the Jets. That was the first year new work had Sauce Gardner and D.J. Reed as their starting cornerbacks.
This year, Tua will play when Dolphin receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle try to get open against Gardner and Hill.
“I wasn’t able to play against this team last year for the two times that our team played them,” Tua told reporters on Tuesday, in advance of the Black Friday showdown. “Will they play us the way they did last year? I’m not too sure. As we’ve watched the film, we can only assume what they’re going to be running. But if they come out with something different and want to put an umbrella over those two guys with Jaylen and Tyreek, so be it. We will have to adjust. And if not, then we’ll play the game the way we see it.”
Tua said he’ll be aware of Gardner — and anyone else the Jets deploy Tua also said he won’t hesitate to throw to Hill and Waddle if they’re in single coverage.
“I’m aware where everyone is on the field,” Tua said. “But when it comes to matchups, for me I’m always going to take our guys regardless of who’s covering them. I will get off of those guys if they have help on top, but if it’s just a one-on-one, I’m going to give the benefit of the doubt to our guys winning that battle. But they’ve got a talented defense. They’ve got really good guys up front within their front seven and their guys in the back are really good as well. Some guys are banged up, but they haven’t missed a beat defensively. We know this is going to be a really tough challenge and we’re looking forward to it.”
The Dolphins might not need an explosion of points, given the Jets’ issues on offense. Still, every game for the Dolphins is critical, given that they’re in a cluster of five three-loss teams in the AFC — Miami, Baltimore, Cleveland, Jacksonville, and Kansas City.
