Tua Tagovailoa – December 24, 2023 (Postgame)
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Sunday, December 24, 2023
Postgame – Dallas
Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa
Q. What are your emotions right now?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: A win. We got a win. That’s all you can ask for in this league any which way you can get it. That’s all you can ask for. Very proud of our guys. They played their hearts out against a really good team. The opposing team played really well. I got a lot of respect for those guys on both sides of the ball. I got a lot of respect for their coaches as well. They’re well-coached. They played a hard game. And these kind of games, in December, that’s how they go. Whoever has the ball last normally, that’s what you can do with that.
Q. After you took two knees (inaudible) and second when the kick was being made, what were you doing? Did you watch?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: I don’t think I watched when Jason kicked it. I think I just walked onto the field with my hands up. I didn’t even look at it. But when we took that final knee, that was really cool. I just think of the amount of work that it takes to play a game week in and week out, to prepare for a really good team on Sunday. Every team is good. So to do that and then come out with a victory, a hard-fought victory, that makes it all worth it.
Q. On that last drive, just what do you see? Obviously you kind of got a next drive started with the facemask penalty. What were you seeing on that drive even down to that big third, that completion to Tyreek?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: I think they played what they wanted to play early on. Then we started to see them make some adjustments, not with the second, not necessarily the second or third series, but as they found their rhythm with what they like to call defensively, with how they wanted to cover our guys and stop the run, they sort of mixed some other things in, but they were very sound. They play hard. So got to take these wins as they come.
Q. Want to ask about that final stretch. When you got the ball with 3:27 left, it looked like you gathered everybody to maybe get everyone focused in the huddle? That’s what it sort of looked like anyway and also on that pass to Tyreek, that third-down pass, it looked like you turned to him and maybe said something, maybe changed something right before the snap?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: No, I’m just telling them what they probably already know. But the entirety of the game or for most of the game, third downs, as we got closer into the red zone, they were trying to double Tyreek. So I basically just told them it was man. So when Tyreek motioned over and they both ran over, Tyreek already assumed that, okay, it’s man but now I’m being doubled on this play. So when Tyreek came back out, the guy watching him was trailing him. And nobody wants to be behind Tyreek so they’re going to try to overplay it. When that happened, there was a screen and Tyreek was able to do what Tyreek does.
Q. What can this win do for the confidence of this team going forward? You’re four wins from the Super Bowl now. If you win four games, you win the Super Bowl.
TUA TAGOVAILOA: You know, I’m so proud of this team for continuing to come in day in, day out and just work on their craft. I don’t think anyone is necessarily worried about what anyone else is saying outside of the guys in the building. The confidence, I mean, everyone has confidence in each other and themselves. I don’t think winning these games do anything more or anything less. But it sort of reiterates the work that we put in and gives us the satisfaction that the work that we do put in pays off and we’ve seen it today.
Q. When you come in on a drive like that and you need a field goal to win, or at least try to get a field goal, maybe use as much of the clock as possible, how do you manage being aggressive versus not making a mistake in that situation? How as a quarterback do you manage those two things?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: I think around the league everyone knows that three minutes and 20-something seconds is normal play for any quarterback. That’s how we looked at it. We didn’t have to do anything more than what was required for us during that play. We didn’t have to take a shot if it wasn’t necessary. As long as we got completions and we got the ball moving forward and they were positive plays, that’s all we could have asked for.
Q. The win clinches a playoff spot. How important is it to cement now that you’re in the postseason?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: It’s awesome. That’s what we work hard for throughout the entirety of OTAs, training camp and that’s why you try to win as many games as you can early on in the season. But I don’t think that changes our mindset as a team. I don’t think we look at our next opponent or our schedule any different than how we have, where we’re going to continue to play our opponents the way we should play them and that’s hard. And we know we’ll get their best. They know they’ll get ours.
Q. Because the narrative of not having beat a team with a winning record going into a game in 15 months, was that drive, when you look back at it, kind of a must-score, defining drive for this team?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: The way I look at it, man, I just continued to go back to the work that our guys put in day in, day out. Obviously our defense didn’t want to allow them to score, but that’s how football works. As we were on the sideline we were going through the scenarios of if they score this is what we look to do. If they don’t score or if they do kick a field goal, here’s the scenarios that would need to happen. I mean, I’m just very proud of our guys. I’m just very happy that collectively we were all able to do something like that and show everyone that we’re fast but our team is also very physical and we can play with anyone.
Q. How much better does a win make your family’s Christmas?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: I think it makes the Miami’s Dolphins’ families, everyone that’s under the Miami Dolphins, I think it makes their Christmas a lot better. Everything is good when you’re winning.
Q. When you passed to Waddle, he eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark. You have him and Tyreek over that mark. Can you touch on that as far as did you ever think that was possible coming into the year?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: Would I have thought that was possible? Yeah. But with the season that Tyreek’s having, would I have been able to tell you that the catches that Waddle was getting that he would eclipse it? No. But I think that should tell you a lot about those two guys. Competitive greatness. When Tyreek was out, Jaylen Waddle stepped up and did what he needed to do to help our team win that game. And you could see how happy Tyreek was for him. This game, Waddle’s out, Tyreek’s up. Every time Tyreek catches the ball, you can look on the sideline and you can see how happy Waddle is. It’s not just with ‘Reek,’ (Tyreek Hill) it’s with everyone and with what they’re doing with that success. And you can’t leave someone like Raheem out, for things that he’s battled throughout his career, things that he’s had to go through. And so I’m very proud of those guys. I’m very proud of this team. I think that tells you a lot about the character that we have on this team and the men that we have. But we’ll enjoy this. Merry Christmas to everyone and we’ll be back next week.
