The Dolphins' 2025 season continued to unravel on Sunday, with Miami enduring a 31-6 defeat at the hands of the previously 1-5 Browns. The team's struggles begin with the play of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who was benched for rookie seventh-round pick Quinn Ewers after throwing interceptions on consecutive drives late in the game.
Playing in windy conditions in Cleveland, Tagovailoa completed 12-23 passes (52.2%) for 100 yards, no touchdowns and three interceptions, his second straight game with three interceptions. He averaged just 4.3 yards per attempt and finished the game with a career-low 24.1 passer rating.
This performance has turned into the norm, not the outlier, for Tagovailoa this season. This year, Tagovailoa has thrown for 1,313 yards, 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions and the Dolphins offense ranks bottom-10 in total yards, passing yards, rushing yards and points per game.
“Definitely not happy, not proud of where I’m at with my play, with how I’ve gone about things this year," Tagovailoa told reporters after the game. "I know I’ve gotta be a lot better—and I’ve been better for the Miami Dolphins in years past. But this isn’t years past, this is this year. Just trying to maneuver everything and build a collection of guys to come along with me. I've gotta be able to multitask if that makes sense, and while doing that and get in that flow."
Less than two years after leading the NFL in passing yards, making the Pro Bowl for the first time in his career and leading the Dolphins to a second straight postseason appearance, Tagovailoa leads the NFL in interceptions. While there have often been questions surrounding Tagovailoa throughout his NFL career, they have firmly returned with his performance and leadership this season.
Along with poor play, Tagovailoa also stirred up controversy last week when he spoke out about teammates showing up late or missing player-only meetings publicly after their loss last week. Tagovailoa got called out for sharing this information publicly rather than handling it in-house, especially since he is the leader of the team. Tagovailoa apologized to his teammates later in the week.
Between the missed throws, turnovers and postgame comments, it's been a disastrous seven weeks for Tagovailoa and the 1-6 Dolphins. While Tagovailoa is signed through the 2028 season, it's hard to imagine the Dolphins sticking with him long-term if this type of play continues.
More NFL on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Tua Tagovailoa Got Brutally Honest After Being Benched in Dolphins' Loss to Browns.