Coverage of Steelers-Dolphins Begins with Football Night in America at 7 p.m. ET; Followed by 8:20 p.m. ET Kickoff on NBC, Peacock and Universo
STAMFORD, Conn. – Oct. 23, 2022 – In advance of tonight’s matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday Night Football, Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa spoke to Maria Taylor for tonight’s episode of Football Night in America, which begins at 7 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.
Tagovailoa discussed player safety, teammates Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, the way Mike McDaniel coaches and more.
Click here to watch the full interview, portions of which will air in tonight’s FNIA. Following are highlights of the full interview:
On being at the center of player safety
“I do understand that with what had happened in Cincinnati and then prior to that was Buffalo, the incidents that occurred and they were within a four-day time span, guys really were trying to find a way to help. I’m all for player safety, but when I hear guys saying ‘Oh, this is the Tua rule’ or ‘This is a rule because of Tua,’ I don’t want to be known as that. I just want to go out and do good things for my team, help my team win.”
On his parents’ concern for his health
“That was their biggest concern prior to the injury and then things in the hospital and then after that and then going through the interview process, going to see second opinion doctors. But for me, I love football. I just love it. I love the feeling that it brings. I love that football can help change peoples’ lives. I just missed it. I just missed playing.”
On if health concerns will affect the way he plays
“Thinking of the longevity of me playing, get the ball out. If I’m getting sacked, just fall down, don’t try to be a superhero. That’s something that has been wired in me, to always try to make something happen, but sometimes the smartest play or the best play is to throw the ball away and just punt the ball.”
On handling criticism
“Being a perfectionist, I had to find a way where I was trying to strive for excellence and not perfection. I was never going to be perfect, and I was going to be chasing something that wasn’t going to be there for me. I know I’m going to make mistakes, but it’s always about knowing better and then doing better from whatever that mistake was. Whatever I can use as fuel for myself, I will. I take receipts. I take receipts.”
On head coach Mike McDaniel
“There isn’t any guy on our team that has no trust or no faith in this guy. We’re all behind him…I’m used to somebody really getting down on me because that’s the way my dad coached me, it was what he called ‘tough love.’ I had that with Coach (Nick) Saban. We had that with Flo (Brian Flores) last year, so my perception on what a head coach should be was always hard, tough, you gotta really work hard to find success. It’s pretty cool that there’s other ways you can find success. It’s not always getting down on somebody.”
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Football Night in America is hosted by Maria Taylor and features Hall of Fame head coach Tony Dungy, two-time Super Bowl champion Rodney Harrison, former NFL head coach Jason Garrett, former NFL quarterback Chris Simms, NFL Insider Mike Florio, and fantasy sports industry pioneer Matthew Berry. This week’s show is also co-hosted by Jac Collinsworth.
Football Night, the most-watched studio show in sports since its debut in 2006, begins every Sunday at 7 p.m. ET. The coordinating producer of FNIA is Matt Casey. FNIA is directed by Kaare Numme.
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