The Miami Dolphins have been one of the NFL’s most pleasant surprises through two weeks, as they dominated the Patriots and then made an unbelievable comeback against the Ravens to get to 2-0 headed into a showdown with the Buffalo Bills for first in the AFC East on Sunday.
The two teams traded touchdowns in the first half, ending at 14-14, but there was significant concern for the Dolphins after their final drive of the half saw Tua Tagovailoa get injured and leave for the locker room. After a pass over the middle, Tua got pushed to the ground late by Matt Milano and the back of his head slammed into the turf.
NOT TUA MAN… NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/iHKYnixVmQ
— Mr Matthew CFB (@MrMatthewCFB) September 25, 2022
When Tagovailoa stood up, he was very wobbly and fell back to a knee after trying to walk, which thankfully alerted the rest of the Dolphins to alert the medical staff and get him taken out of the game and into the locker room for evaluation.
Uh oh, Tua is not okay… #FinsUp pic.twitter.com/epCxe5h5Je
— Emmanuel Acho (@EmmanuelAcho) September 25, 2022
It is a scary looking injury and he was officially ruled “questionable” to return with a head injury. However, to the surprise of most, Tagovailoa returned to the field with his helmet for the second half after, apparently, clearing concussion protocols which raised eyebrows given how bad he looked immediately after the hit.
Tua is currently warming up on the sideline while Teddy Bridgewater wears a skull cap. I have no idea how he passed concussion protocol… but it sure looks like Tua is going back in the game.
— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) September 25, 2022
Tua just ran out of the tunnel, helmet in hand. He’s hyping up the crowd and they’re loving it here
— Marcel Louis-Jacques (@Marcel_LJ) September 25, 2022
Hopefully he truly is alright, but it was a scary looking situation and the Dolphins will hopefully continue monitoring him closely.