Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa named Pepsi Rookie of the Week

Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa named Pepsi Rookie of the Week

The Miami Dolphins have had their fair share of individual accolades thus far this season. Kicker Jason Sanders has twice been named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Month. Kyle Van Noy was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week just this past week, too. But while there have been plenty of honors to go around, this one is a special one — it is the first recognition for the Miami Dolphins new franchise quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa.

Tagovailoa, who Miami transitioned to as their starter after 6 games this season, was named the Pepsi Rookie of the Week for his effort in Week 13 against the Cincinnati Bengals.

With 296 yards passing and a touchdown, Tagovailoa’s up-tempo efforts were effective in the second half to pull Miami away from the Bengals after a closely contested first half. And for much of that second half (and even most of the first half, too) Tagovailoa looked hardly like a rookie — perhaps benefitting from the Dolphins breaking out some tempo that mirrored Tagovailoa’s days at the University of Alabama.

Tagovailoa bested a late push from Los Angeles Rams running back Cam Akers to score this week’s award. But while individual accolades are nice, you can be certain that Miami’s focus is not on the honor for Tagovailoa but instead on the Kansas City Chiefs; who Miami plays tomorrow at Hard Rock Stadium at 1PM EST. Should the Dolphins brew an upset in that contest, odds are we’ll probably get some Dolphins representations in the awards front next week too — it will require a big effort to get the job done.

Here’s to seeing more Dolphins in the weekly awards next week, too.