Tua Tagovailoa didn’t start the Miami Dolphins turnover party, but the quarterback couldn’t stop the Christmas Day parade of picks that led to a 26-20 loss to the Green Bay Packers.
Tagovailoa threw interceptions on the Dolphins’ final three possessions, which the Packers turned into six points and the victory.
“Just very unfortunate,” Tagovailoa said. “It was just terrible how everything ended. Like I told the guys, ‘That’s on me.’ I will definitely get better from that.”
Miami’s turnovers began at the end of the first half, when Raheem Mostert fumbled the ball, setting up a Packers field goal that cut a 10-point Dolphins lead to seven at the break.
The Dolphins wouldn’t score in the second half, missing a field goal and the final three drives ending in Tua picks.
“On the first one, I tried to throw it over a defender, but I ended up really throwing over the defender and Tyreek [Hill], so that one got away,” the QB said. “The second one, I might have said the wrong play. I’m not too sure. But there was just some communication errors on that.”
Mostert, Tua’s intended receiver on the second interception, took the blame for continuing to run up the seam rather than cutting the route off, as the QB expected. Regardless, the pick wiped out the Dolphins’ best scoring chance and allowed Green Bay to wring time off the clock.
Two plays after the Packers took a six-point lead, Tagovailoa threw a game-sealing third INT in the fourth quarter.
“The third one was just not a good ball for my receivers to have been able to make a play on that,” he said. “You know, it’s tough. You get an opportunity to play on Christmas Day against a really good team, and I go out there and really not being able to put my best foot forward for our team.”