It’s early, but Tua Tagovailoa is playing like an MVP

The Miami Dolphins are clearly operating on another level offensively than most of the NFL. Scoring 70 points against Denver last week minus their second most dynamic player, Jaylen Waddle, is indicative of that. Tua Tagovailoa and the crew look like world beaters as the only remaining undefeated AFC team. Tagovailoa is staking an early (super early) claim for league MVP after being named AFC offensive player of the month for September.

Tua has thrown eight touchdowns with just two interceptions in his first three games. He’s completing over 71 percent of his passes and leads the NFL in yards per attempt at 10.1. He’s second in passing yards (1,024) and one of two quarterbacks to have thrown for over 1,000 yards through three games. Add the Dolphins’ 3-0 record and dominating performance last week, and you’ve got a great MVP candidate.

Tagovailoa isn’t just along for the ride. He’s in charge of captaining this ship and thriving under head coach Mike McDaniel’s offensive scheme. Miami’s biggest challenge to date comes this week as they travel to Buffalo to take on the Bills. As a division rivalry, this should be a tightly contested contest. It’d be shocking to see the Dolphins put up anywhere close to the offensive output they did against the Broncos last week. The Phins posted 726 yards on offense, which is absolutely insane.

This game against Buffalo is Tua and the Dolphins opportunity to show how real they are against some people’s Super Bowl favorite entering the year. Miami needs to win this game, and Tagovailoa will play a huge part if they can. A loss to the Bills in Buffalo won’t be the end of the world, but it’ll give the nonbelievers ammunition against Tua, and the team. I was once a Tua doubter, but after watching his production last season, and early this year, I’ve had a change of heart. He’s good. Really good. I’m not giving him great yet, but he’s on his way if he keeps this up.

Of course, it helps to have so many weapons surrounding Tua, but very few QBs have won at a high clip without top-tier talent around them. So, let’s not fault Tagovailoa for the embarrassment of riches he’s been given. If he can keep up this pace, Tua will throw more than 40 TD passes this season.

While it is a long season, there’s no denying Tua’s production, and the overall dominance of this offense. Thus far, they look like a modern version of the St. Louis Rams Greatest Show on Turf. Before anyone jumps out of their skin, no one is calling Tagovailoa Kurt Warner. But at the time, he wasn’t even the Kurt Warner we’d come to know during his career. We all have to start somewhere.