The Miami Dolphins loss to the Indianapolis Colts was one of the more shocking results from Week 1 of the 2025 NFL season. And after the game, Tua Tagovailoa had to answer some tough questions pertaining to his far-from-stellar individual performance.
Tagovailoa and the Dolphins were never able to get comfortable or find any kind of rhythm on offense against the Colts, being held scoreless until garbage time.
Perhaps the most concerning of the problems for the Dolphins offensively came from turnovers Tagovailoa was directly responsible for, throwing two interceptions and losing a fumble in the 33-8 loss.
All three of the turnovers from the Dolphins resulted in Colts scores. But the two most back-breaking turnovers came on back-to-back Dolphins possessions to start the second half, which largely put the game out of reach for the Dolphins.
After the game, Tagovailoa was asked about the back-to-back turnovers by Omar Kelly of the Miami Herald, who suggested that when Tagovailoa does turn the ball over, they regularly come in bunches. But Tagovailoa vehemently disagreed that this was normal for him, largely scoffing at the observation entirely.
“From your standpoint, why is it that when you do have turnovers they happen in bunches?” asked Kelly. “Do you think it is you pressing?”
“I wouldn’t say I am pressing,” replied Tagovailoa. “It’s a part of the game. Like, you obviously don’t want to turn it over. I thought that was a wild comment. That I turn the ball over in bunches? That is crazy. It just so happened that is what happened today. It was what it was. You’ve got to move forward from that. Can’t make the same mistakes and move on from that.”
While some may see Kelly’s question as a bit harsh, he did come prepared with stats that do back up the narrative he is painting.
In a follow-up post on X, Kelly shared how Tagovailoa’s latest three-turnover is his seventh since 2020. That is second-most of any quarterback in that timeframe behind just Trevor Lawrence, who has done so in eight games.
Whether you see these comments from Tagovailoa as an attempt to avoid accountability, or believe that he truly wasn’t aware of his turnover-prone ways, it is quite clear that the former Pro Bowl quarterback needs to be far more sharp if the Dolphins want to bounce back in their Week 2 game against the New England Patriots.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.