Miami Dolphins Tua Tagovailoa once again generated a news cycle around concussions, the dangers of football, and his own future this season when he left a Week 2 loss to Buffalo with a concussion.
In his second game back from that concussion upon choosing to continue his career, Tagovailoa once again played the Bills. Down late on the road, Tagovailoa laid out for a diving finish at the first-down line that reminded many of the same hit that sent him to the IR in September.
And after Tagovailoa got the first down and avoided contact from any Buffalo defenders, ESPN host Domonique Foxworth is questioning whether Bills players were psyched out of hitting the Dolphins quarterback because of his notorious history of brain injuries.
“My biggest takeaway from this game was an odd one, but it felt like the Bills didn’t want to hit Tua, which surprised me,” Foxworth said on his podcast Sunday night.
“There were a couple different times where it felt like under normal circumstances, someone would hit the quarterback. But maybe because this Bills team is unique or maybe it’s just everyone in the league is extra cautious about Tua, but it was surprising to me with the game on the line, Tua scrambles and he dives, and a player dodges him. And once in the backfield he’s standing there and very hittable, and I think it was Damar Hamlin decided not to hit him. So I guess I applaud them, but I don’t get it. It just shocked me.”
In a strange twist of fate back in Week 2, Bills safety Damar Hamlin was the one involved in the play that resulted in Tagovailoa’s concussion. Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest on the field in 2022 and was resuscitated by team medical staff.
Whether it was something in the back of Hamlin’s mind or a clear emphasis from Bills players, Foxworth believes it was real.
He wasn’t the only one who had that history in mind on Sunday.
During that run by Tagovailoa in the fourth quarter, CBS announcer Kevin Harlan let out an “uh-oh!”
“Uh oh!”
Kevin Harlan got a little nervous when Tua Tagovailoa ran for a big 4th down on Sunday: pic.twitter.com/gs3loY06g6
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) November 4, 2024
It’s hard to imagine Bills players didn’t think about Tua Tagovailoa’s injury in Week 2 as they prepared for this game. Still, tons of players with injury history take the field each Sunday in the NFL. And while there’s less history between Tagovailoa and his Week 7 opponent, the Arizona Cardinals didn’t hold back tackling Tagovailoa in that game.
Nevertheless, Foxworth is much more likely to notice a hesitant tackle or light hit than most average viewers. If he believes Buffalo was skittish, he is probably onto something.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.