Read the full transcript from Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa's press conference on October 29, 2023.
Q. How are you excited about this bounce-back performance this week, preparing for Kansas City next week?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: Yeah, we're excited to come off with a 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.
Q. You say it's tough to beat, but you have never lost to them. It's not tough for you to beat.
TUA TAGOVAILOA: It's tough. It's tough. You know, if you look at a lot of the games, none of them were just runaway games. 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.
Q. We've talked a lot this season about the short motion that you, WR Tyreek Hill and all the other pass catchers, but today it seemed like it opened up WR Jaylen Waddle's last touchdown. Was that something you saw on film that you could kind of bring back as a wrinkle to the offense?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: In a way, yes, but that was one of those plays where it was just a miscommunication from their defense and that was basically the premier look even if they did cover it with what we wanted for that play.
Q. They scored on fourth down to cut it to seven. Probably your best drive of the day might have been the last drive. Talk about the importance of what's the mindset going out there, they got it to seven, we can't do a three-and-out here. We've got only just put a drive together but soak up clock. Talk about that last drive.
TUA TAGOVAILOA: Yeah, it's important for us offensively when it's a one-score game to go out and basically not poop the bed, if you will. It's to go out and execute at a high level. We want to always end the game with the ball if we can, but in that sort of scenario, we were looking for points, as well. Any which way we could do that, that's what we were trying to do. We were able to do that.
Q. What do you think of the overall potential of this team having Jalen Ramsey back and pretty soon you will get some other guys back off IR?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: I mean, it's awesome to be able to have that guy out there. It was one of the coolest walk-outs I've seen from any Miami Dolphin player since I've been here when he just walked out through the smoke and did his deal and the crowd went wild. And then to top it off, he got an interception. He got a forced fumble. All of those things. The hype is real when it comes to someone like Jalen Ramsey. The defense rallies around each other. Those guys have been playing really well off each other. But having someone like him back in the lineup is definitely going to help those guys go.
Q. You're one of the best in the league at bouncing back from a pick with a scoring drive following that —
TUA TAGOVAILOA: Did we score after I threw a pick? We did?
Q. Late in the first quarter..
TUA TAGOVAILOA: Yes, we like those. No interceptions, but touchdowns, we like those.
Q. What happened on the pick?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: Yeah, it was not a good read. I think they did a really good job disguising what they ran. I think it was almost like a double hook, having No. 2 as the deep third player, and it was basically cover three if you look at it with where everyone was, and I basically threw it to the hook defender and you can't do that. That's what happened. But I'm proud of our guys for rallying back, and we continued to play. There were three quarters left to play, and we finished.
Q. Talk about that challenge to you today. They historically are — Belichick is very good at throwing those different looks and I'm sure you were ready for that coming in, but talk about that as a challenge, that they did it on the pick. Talk about just the different looks that you had to see, had to deal with. They were sending some blitzes, coming in on you quick.
TUA TAGOVAILOA: Yeah, the challenge with the different looks is really they're just presenting that for themselves. For us, we have rules, and if it's one high, two high, sometimes we can work this side, sometimes we can work that side. If all is sort of — okay, I'm not too sure where to start, then you stick with your rules. All right, it's probably going to look like this, probably going to look like this off of these looks, and then you work through your progression from there. I wouldn't say it's always a gotcha deal every time, but it is something that we have been practicing, as far as maybe this isn't the look we're going to get, let's practice looks we're probably not going to get and then we work from there.
Q. Were you using the tendencies that you've seen from J.C. Jackson from Week 1 when he was on the Chargers —
TUA TAGOVAILOA: Not necessarily. I think with how Coach Belichick plays his guys, it's a little different because it's not necessarily J.C. I'm looking at, it's more so the guys on the top end with who has to cover someone like Tyreek. When Tyreek is pressed, I think everyone in here would probably agree it's not a good idea to not have someone over the top of him. The way Coach Belichick played it, I think was to try to take that off of Tyreek, but with a lot of our back turned actions and it's the quarter side to that side, it makes it tough for the safety because he also has a run fit responsibility, but he also has to help with that. Outside leverage with J.C., he's inside leverage, and if you don't get a hit on Tyreek, the timing of it makes it tough.
Q. There was a fourth down play where you took off up the middle of the field and got it. What was going through your mind as that play developed –
TUA TAGOVAILOA: Yeah, football is fun. I don't really run. That's why. So football is fun. So when I did run, it was fun.
Q. You've got a plane ride coming up tomorrow. What are your travel essentials that you want to bring with you so Germany?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: I'm just trying to go to sleep on that flight. I'm just trying to find ways to go to sleep. I think they said it was a nine-hour flight, so trying to find any which way I can go to sleep, and as we get there, try to get adjusted.
Q. Have you ever been to Europe?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: I think London. We went to London. But outside of that, nope.
