Tua Tagovailoa under fire for telling the truth about the Miami Dolphins

The 2025 season hasn't gone like Tua Tagovailoa and the Miami Dolphins had hoped. After Sunday's heartbreaking loss to the Chargers, the Dolphins are now 1-5 on the season. Four of those five defeats have come by 10 points or less.

Tagovailoa led a touchdown drive to give the Dolphins the lead with under a minute to play, but the defense allowed the Chargers to get in field goal position and win the game at the horn.

It was another disappointing result in what already feels like a lost season in Miami. Tagovailoa is not without his faults. He threw three interceptions on Sunday, giving him seven on the season in just six games. But the flaws in Miami are much deeper than one player, and Tagovailoa gave fans and media a peek behind the curtain after the loss.

Tagovailoa's comments immediately drew the ire of plenty of fans and former players. As the QB, and the highest-paid player on the team, Tagovailoa is among the "leadership" of the team that he references. He also knows that. He's not throwing anyone under the bus by name; he's sending a message through the media to the rest of the team - himself included - much like his former coach at Alabama, Nick Saban, frequently did.

Former players and media rip Tua Tagovailoa for his postgame comments

It's kind of amazing how many people actually missed the point. Andrew Whitworth included. Again, Tagovailoa is not without blame, and he knows that. This isn't deflecting. He's not stupid. He understands he's a leader on this team, and his message is to himself as well.

What needs to be explained further, exactly? It seems like a pretty obvious thing to say. He's not going to name names.

Tagovailoa has taken accountability before. But it's clear that the issues in Miami are systemic and beyond his reach. The Dolphins will almost certainly clean house this offseason. They might not wait that long.

Mike McDaniel is a dead man walking. It wouldn't be surprising if he gets the axe during the season.

At least someone came out in defense of Tua.

Who knows what the future holds for Tagovailoa in Miami. It's clear that changes are on the horizon. New regimes tend to want to bring in their own guys, particularly at key positions like QB. It's not a secret that he's not the same QB he was before all the injuries. He can still be effective, but he doesn't have the same zip on throws he did during his time in Tuscaloosa.

That hasn't prevented him from having productive seasons, however, and he has productive seasons in front of him if he's given the opportunity.

If the Dolphins were 3-3 of 4-2 instead of 1-5, Tagovailoa's comments likely wouldn't have caused much of a stir.

But when you're losing like the Dolphins have lost, anything you say and do is going to be under a microscope.