Picture Credit: Twitter
Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was rushed to a local hospital after he suffered a horrific head and neck injury on a second-quarter sack in Thursday night's game against the Cincinnati Bengals. Tagovailoa snapped the back of his head on the ground as Bengals nose tackle Josh Tupou took him down. Moments later, the fingers of both his hands were up in a rigid position.
The medical staff were present on the field for roughly 10 minutes before Tagovailoa was loaded onto a stretcher and taken away to a Cincinnati hospital and ruled out of the game citing head and neck injuries. The team announced shortly after Tagovailoa's departure that "he is conscious and has movement in all his extremities".
Miami rookie coach Mike McDaniel addressed the incident after the game and confirmed that Tagovailoa was in the concussion protocol. "He was asking for me. And when he saw me, I knew that wasn’t the same guy I’m used to seeing," said McDaniel
He further continued he had "absolutely zero patience for or will ever put a player in position for them to be in harm’s way. That’s not what I’m about at all. No outcome of a game would influence me to be irresponsible as a head coach of a football team.”
"Man, totally scary when somebody goes down like that," Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow said in the post-game interview. "We play a dangerous game. Tua's a tough guy. ... It's great news he's flying back with the team."
Similarly, NFL analyst Ryan Fitzpatrick and a former teammate of Tagovailoa's in 2020 was extremely emotional as he described the incident. He said, "As an announcer and analyst, I’m having a tough time right now."
Before leaving the game, Tagovailoa was 8-for-14 for 110 yards and an interception. Teddy Bridgewater took Tagovailoa's place and finished 14-for-23 for 193 yards. He also threw down a touchdown and an interception as the Dolphins suffered their first loss of the season with a 27-15 margin.