Tua Tagovailoa Blew Packers Game With Three Mind-Numbing Fourth Quarter Interceptions

Tua Tagovailoa and the Miami Dolphins kept it close with the Green Bay Packers throughout their early-window matchup on Christmas Day. And Tagovailoa blew the game badly with three absolutely mind-numbing interceptions that makes one wonder if the Dolphins aren't better off with someone else at quarterback.

Maybe that last point is an exaggeration. But the interceptions were as bad as you can imagine. All three came in the fourth quarter with the Dolphins either tied or trailing Green Bay. The first happened with Tagovailoa targeting Tyreek Hill on a crossing route. He airmailed it.

The second pick was an attempt to hit Raheem Mostert on a seam route. Mostert was not looking for the ball but even if he was, DeVondre Campbell was going to pick it off no matter what. It was made that much worse by the Dolphins being in field goal range down by three.

The Miami defense managed to hold up on the following drive and kept the Packers to a field goal to keep it a one-score game. The Dolphins got the ball back with two minutes to go. Plenty of time for an electric offense to get within striking distance and have a legit shot at a game-tying touchdown, right?

Wrong. Tagovailoa ended the game by throwing a pass short and way behind to Mike Gesicki. Rasul Douglas caught the easy pick and took a knee. Curtains.

Tagovailoa has certainly been better than last year but all three of these throws demonstrate why there was so much noise about his viability as a starter. They weren't even close. It's one thing if a defender makes a big play but Tagovailoa threw the ball directly to the defender in each of these three instances.

With the Dolphins falling to 8-7, the picks could end up extremely damaging to Miami's playoff hopes. A bad Christmas for Tagovailoa.