Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa knows that when he’s watching Josh Allen in action, he’s seeing another class of quarterback.
The Buffalo Bills quarterback is coming off an MVP season and a six-game winning streak over the Dolphins dating back to 2022. Tagovailoa shared some praise for Allen ahead of their matchup this Thursday night — and caught some attention for some self-deprecating remarks.
Tua Tagovailoa Admits Own Limitations in Praising Allen
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Tagovailoa shared praise for Allen’s deep skillset and admitted some of his own shortcomings as well.
“He’s top tier,” Tagovailoa said, via SI.com. “If it’s not with his arms, it’s with his legs. That dude that can do clearly anything he wants. Definitely different skillset for me, I can’t do half of what he does when it comes to running the ball and with how he can just chuck a ball down the field.”
Thursday’s game could be critical for both teams, with the Dolphins looking to avoid an 0-3 start and a nearly impossible path back to playoff contention. The Bills have a chance to make their mark in the conference early, with the Kansas City Chiefs already falling to 0-2 while the Bills remain undefeated.
Bills Make Statement on the Ground
The Bills needed heroics from Allen in their season-opening win over the Baltimore Ravens, with the quarterback leading three scoring drives in the final five minutes to win 41-40. Allen threw for more than 250 yards with two touchdowns in the fourth quarter alone.
But the Bills set a different identity in their Week 2 win over the New York Jets, dominating on defense and a well-rounded rushing attack.
Running back James Cook rushed for 132 yards and two touchdowns, with Allen adding a 40-yard run on the team’s first scoring drive.
“Just setting our identity,” Cook told reporters after the game. “We can run the ball and get tough yards, and that’s what we did. Ran the ball and did it defensively.”
Cook had a 44-yard touchdown where he juked his way through the heart of the Jets defense. Cook said after the game that he had a feeling he could take it for a touchdown after making the first defender miss.
“When I cut back, like when I made the jump and cut back to the right,” he said. “I knew it was, you know, just beat the first man, and that’s what I did.”
The Jets could not contain Cook, with the Bills riding their running back and Allen turning in a rare game — fewer than 200 passing yards and no touchdowns.
“I thought James was doing a great job of getting on to the second level,” Allen said. “He had a heck of a game, and yeah, when something’s not broke, don’t fix it, and we kept going back to it and worked out pretty good for us.”
The Bills defense also bounced back after surrendering 40 points to the Ravens, giving up just three points before the Jets scored a late garbage-time touchdown.
“It’s a tough league,” Cook said of his team’s defensive effort. “You know, just the way that they came back and faced adversity, and came back and played a good game today, it shows that the grit that they have in that.”
Tua Tagovailoa Makes Telling Admission on Bills QB Josh Allen