Sports Illustrated writer believes Tua Tagovailoa may have bought himself a lifeline

It's been a rough season for Tua Tagovailoa and the Miami Dolphins. So bad, in fact, that there were legitimate questions about the future of the former Alabama star in Miami. The last two games heading into Sunday, in particular, had been rough for Tagovailoa.

In losses to the Chargers and Browns, Tagovailoa had thrown one touchdown pass to six interceptions. His performance against Cleveland last week was, in particular, disastrous as the Dolphins were blown out by the bottom-feeder Browns.

But with his back against the wall and many calling for him to be benched, Tagovailoa put together his best performance of the season in leading the Dolphins to a 34-10 road win over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. A performance so promising that the former Alabama QB may have given himself - and his head coach - a lifeline.

"Tagovailoa ended talk about his job security and might have even provided some cushion for his coach Mike McDaniel," writes Sports Illustrated's Gilberto Manzano.

Mike McDaniel is on arguably the hottest seat of any coach in the NFL right now, but the Dolphins' performance against the Falcons just bought him some goodwill. It was the type of performance you don't normally see from a team with a lame-duck head coach. McDaniel can thank Tagovailoa for that, and he might be the key moving forward for McDaniel's future, according to Manzano:

"Now, it’s starting to look like the best way for McDaniel to save his job is by getting consistency from Tagovailoa for the remainder of the season. If the team can’t move on from Tagovailoa until after 2026, maybe it’s only right that McDaniel sticks around until then."

Tua Tagovailoa rallies the Dolphins for a big win

Tagovailoa was ruthlessly efficient against the Falcons. He completed 20-of-26 passes for 206 yards and four touchdowns, and, most importantly, zero turnovers. Turnovers had plagued Tagovailoa all season long, but at least for one Sunday, he took care of the football and the Dolphins flourished as a result.

One of those four touchdowns happened to look pretty familiar for Alabama fans:

In the same stadium, almost from the same exact spot on the field, Tagovailoa and Jaylen Waddle recreated their touchdown connection from the 2018 SEC Championship Game. It was almost in the exact same spot on the field, too.

Waddle has undertaken a bigger role for the Dolphins with Tyreek Hill's season-ending injury. Waddle produced 99 yards and a touchdown in the Miami win on Sunday. He's up to 12th in the NFL in receiving yards now with 504 for the season. He's been a constant in NFL trade speculation with the Dolphins floundering, but after the performance on Sunday, Miami seems likely to hang on to Waddle with hopes that the connection between him and Tagovailoa can help the team make a run down the stretch.