The Miami Dolphins are benching former Heisman Trophy winner Tua Tagovailoa ahead of their Week 16 contest against the Cincinnati Bengals. Rookie quarterback Quinn Ewers will start in his place.
The change comes after the Dolphins' 28-15 Week 15 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday night, when Tagovailoa threw his 15th interception of the season - the most of any player in the NFL - en route to Miami's playoff-eliminating loss.
Tagovailoa has thrown for 2,660 yards and 20 touchdowns to accompany his 15 interceptions, leading the Dolphins to a 6-8 record, currently sitting at third place in the AFC East. Despite Miami missing the playoffs, the Dolphins seemed to be trending in the right direction before their 13-point loss to Pittsburgh on Monday.
Entering Week 15, the Dolphins won four consecutive games, including upsetting the Buffalo Bills by 17 points and taking down the Washington Commanders in overtime in Madrid, Spain.
However, the late-season surge was not enough to combat Miami's horrific start to the season. Tagovailoa started 0-3 as a starter before taking down the New York Jets 27-21 in Week 4. However, the victory was short-lived as the Dolphins went on another three-game losing streak to drop to 1-6.
Miami's sixth loss of the season, a 31-6 blowout against the Cleveland Browns in Week 4, was the first time that Ewers saw the field in his NFL career. He entered the game in the fourth quarter, relieving Tagovailoa of his duties after he completed 12 of 23 passes for 100 yards and three interceptions.
Ewers completed 5 of 8 passes for 53 yards and finished with a higher QBR (25.5) than Tagovailoa (4.2).
Before being drafted in the 7th round of the 2025 NFL Draft, Ewers led the Texas Longhorns for three straight seasons, where he threw 68 touchdowns and 24 interceptions while completing 64.9% of his passing attempts.
Ewers will now make his first start of his professional career on Sunday, in a game with little to no consequences since Miami has already missed the postseason.
