When the Miami Dolphins travel to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday night in a meeting of two of the NFL’s top teams, there will be one certainty: Tua Tagovailoa cannot take Jalen Hurts’ place at halftime.
Among the top young quarterbacks in the NFL are Tagovailoa and Hurts. When he led the Eagles to the Super Bowl last season, Hurts, 25, finished second in the MVP voting. Under coach Mike McDaniel’s system, the 25-year-old Tagovailoa has flourished. This year, he has built on a breakout 2022, when he achieved career highs in passing touchdowns, passing yards, and passer rating.
However, the QBs that square off in the NFL for the first time will always be connected by their time spent playing for Alabama under Nick Saban’s tutelage.
More particularly, the national championship game from the 2017 season, when Saban benched Hurts at the half after guiding the Crimson Tide to two national championship games and switched him out for Tagovailoa. When Tagovailoa came off the bench and threw three touchdown passes to earn the Crimson Tide their seventh national championship, he was a freshman who had previously played largely in mop-up duty.
The game that sparked the comeback, too, oh, right? DeVonta Smith, the wideout with 1,110 receiving yards from a year ago, was the recipient of Tagovailoa’s 41-yard touchdown pass when he reconnected with Hurts.
The next Alabama season, Tagovailoa, who currently leads the NFL in passing yards and touchdown passes, was still the starter. But after Tagovailoa was hurt in the SEC Championship game, other players helped the Crimson Tide to victory. Hurts later changed schools and played his last season at Oklahoma.
In the 2020 draft, Miami selected Tagovailoa fifth overall, and the Eagles selected Hurts with the 53rd choice in the second round.
They are now in charge of 5-1 clubs that are Super Bowl candidates.
“I believe it’s going to be a great game, and I don’t see it as a sneak peek of the Super Bowl or anything like that,” Tagovailoa said. “To me, they are just another team we are preparing to play. We need to approach this game head-on if we want to succeed in our objectives.
This week, Saban said he never noticed any underlying issues between Tagovailoa and Hurts, not even when they were vying for the top ranking in college football.
“I’ve never had two players who were really, really good at the same position and supported each other the way those two guys did when they were here,” said Saban. “I believe that it all comes down to respect for one another, outstanding teamwork, and putting the team’s needs ahead of one’s own. One starter had a 26-2 record; nevertheless, he was replaced for the entire year by another player, whom he backed. And when that player was hurt, he came on to win the match.
Compared to his years as a starter, Hurts, in Saban’s opinion, actually developed as a passer more during the season he spent playing behind Tagovailoa.
I think it’s really, very special how they supported each other psychologically in every situation, and I’m sure they feel the same way about each other, too,” Saban said. They’re both excellent competitors, so I know they’ll go do what they need to for their team. But I do believe that both males will appreciate one another.
Although they were both courteous of one another, neither quarterback necessarily praised the other during the intense rivalry.
“It’s been great to see the things he’s been able to do over his career,” Hurts stated.
I have a lot of respect for Jalen, said Tagovailoa. He’s been a fierce rival ever since I arrived in Alabama. Since I’ve been there, and for the duration of his college career, he has been a remarkable player.
RAMSEY COMES BACK
Jalen Ramsey, an All-Pro cornerback for the Dolphins, worked out on Wednesday for the first time since undergoing surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee in July.
Ramsey will not play on Sunday due to the injury he sustained during training camp’s second practice, but McDaniel said the team is hopeful that Ramsey will quickly make a full recovery.
“He told us before his surgery that he was going to — he kept telling me he was an alien,” McDaniel stated. I’m beginning to trust him now. And it’s good for the squad to see how you approach things from such a seasoned player who is also at the top of his game.
Ramsey must be added to the 53-man roster by the Dolphins no later than November 7.
Miami’s defense is presently 20th in the league, allowing 343.7 yards per game.
MITM TESTING
The Dolphins have defeated opponents with combined records of 5-24 in five of their victories this season. Buffalo (4-2) is the only team they’ve met that has a winning record. Miami fell short, falling 48-20.
The game on Sunday, according to Tagovailoa, could be a decisive one.
“I think it’s always good when you’re facing a team that went to the Super Bowl, where they were just that short of winning it,” Tagovailoa stated. Going up against a team that is aware of what is required is always a challenge. They are aware of the effort required to succeed there. And it’s unquestionably a terrific chance to assess where our team sits and where we are with that.
JOHN GREEN
The Eagles will wear retro Kelly green jerseys on Sunday due to an oddly high demand. From 1985 to 1995, the Eagles’ primary uniform had this hue. Despite the team’s lack of success during that period, the aura of former coach Buddy Ryan, the late Reggie White, Randall Cunningham, and others from that era still dominates the Philadelphia sports scene.
A Kelly green Eagles jacket worn by Princess Diana once appeared on the cover of People magazine.
The Eagles sought for years to reinstate the color scheme as an alternate jersey, but it wasn’t until the NFL announced that teams might wear two different helmets in advance of the 2022 season that the notion started to take shape.
“Look good, feel good, play good, right?” Nick Sirianni, the Eagles’ coach, stated. “We concentrate on the current task, but that’s a great thing. My son doesn’t wear his Kelly green A.J. Brown jersey very frequently, but I know that as soon as the jerseys were released, I ran straight to the store and bought them for my kids. Fans will find it exciting, and I believe we will also find it exciting.
The Eagles have made a major investment in Kelly green merchandise outside of the team’s uniforms, introducing anything from Kelly green debit cards to specialized whiskey and vodka labels.