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The Buffalo Bills got the first very dose of the Miami Dolphins’ era, “Tua or nothing.”
Last season as a rookie, Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa had former Bill Ryan Fitzpatrick as his backup. Now Fitzpatrick is in Washington.
As the No. 2, Fitzpatrick was called a “relief pitcher” like in baseball. If Tagovailoa struggled, they’d turn things over to the vet and to Fitzpatrick’s credit, it worked out well occasionally.
In life without him, it’s just Tagovailoa on his own. The first time that ever happened was not last weekend’s season opener, though.
It came in Week 17 last season when Fitzpatrick tested positive for COVID-19 and couldn’t be the backup.
Buffalo went on to win 56-26, knocking Miami out of the playoffs in the process in the season finale.
But since that last lopsided victory, the Bills (0-1) see a different player under center. Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott commented that via video conference this week as his team preps for Tagovailoa and the Dolphins (1-0) in Week 2.
“You see the growth, the progress he’s made from last year to this year,” McDermott said. “Obviously he’s worked hard and you can see that.”
Hoping to derail Tagovailoa from taking another step forward after their Week 1 win over the New England Patriots will be the Bills defense and their secondary. Specifically, safety Jordan Poyer elaborated that the QB’s growth has come from experience.
“I think he’s got a lot more control of the offense. I think his decision making is a lot more quicker. I think he understands the scheme a bit better, he’s making some really good throws,” Poyer said via press conference. “It’s a good offense, we’re going to have to be prepared for it.”
Tagovailoa’s win against the Pats didn’t come without its struggles. He did make one poor decision, heaving up a ball after under pressure which was easily picked off.
Those are the types of plays the Bills will have to hope they can capitalize on. In Week 1, the Bills did not force any turnovers against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
It sounds like the opportunity will be there as well.
The Dolphins already said this week that taking some chances on offense (and hopefully capitalizing on them) is part of their game plan against the Bills.
“We always want to be aggressive and I think you need to be, especially in that situation,” Miami head coach Brian Flores said via the Palm Beach Post. “We’re going to need to be against Buffalo. We are. We are going to need to be against Buffalo.”
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