Tua Tagovailoa, Dolphins React After Season Sweep Vs. Patriots

For the second time this season, the Patriots put up 17 points against the Dolphins and for the second time, it wasn’t enough as Miami defeated New England 31-17 on Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium.

“We’re excited to come off with a win,” Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa told reporters following Miami’s win. “It’s tough to sweep any team in your division. Again, a Bill Belichick-coached team to tough to beat anytime, anyplace, anywhere, so I’m proud of those guys. Right now we’re just going to enjoy this victory, and we’ll watch the film, learn from what we can get better at, and then we’ll focus on our next opponent.”

Tagovailoa has won all six games he has started against the Patriots, but the 25-year-old doesn’t believe New England is a layup win despite their record this season.

“It’s tough. It’s tough. If you look at a lot of the games, none of them were just runaway games,” Tagovailoa said. “They were almost all to the end. To me, those are always tough games. You know if you turn the ball over the way I have, it makes it a tough game, and you keep those guys in that game and you can’t keep a team like that in a game like that. It’s tough, but we were able to overcome a lot of obstacles and challenges. Our defense, I think our defense did a tremendous job, as well, giving us many opportunities.”

The Patriots are 2-6 on the season, while the Dolphins lead the AFC East at 6-2, but to Miami’s head coach Mike McDaniel there’s a reason the NFL has the mantra of “any given Sunday.”

“Overall, I couldn’t — this is a really, really cool win just for the team. It’s the first time since I’ve been here that we’ve been able to beat a division opponent twice,” McDaniel told reporters following the game. “… I knew we were going to find out a lot about our team today, and I could care less about what their record is. That is a tough team to go against. They made their plays. They made it very difficult.”

The Patriots will head home to Gillette Stadium to host the Washington Commanders in Week 9, while the Dolphins travel to Germany to take on the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.