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It happened. It finally happened.
No, not the Miami Dolphins beating the New York Jets. That happens all the time. What had Dolphins fans unbuckling their pants on Sunday was the fact that Tua Tagovailoa finally took his first snaps under center since the Dolphins selected him in the first round of the draft.
Tua Time is here, folks. It's officially a thing that exists in a place other than Dolphins fans' minds.
Sure, Tua seeing action came in garbage time of a 24-0 blowout win over a horrendous Jets team, but it was glorious nonetheless.
Many people are saying it was the greatest 2-for-2, 9-yard performance in the history of football.
Tua does throw it and completes it to RB Patrick Laird.pic.twitter.com/hIwqMR5ODY
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) October 18, 2020
— Ryan Yousefi (@Rizzmiggiz) October 18, 2020
Had to be done: Tua’s first completion, set to the Titanic theme pic.twitter.com/t8u9Ginr1M
— Clay Ferraro (@ClayWPLG) October 18, 2020
— Josh Appel (@JoshAppel) October 18, 2020
Following his first action on a football field since a catastrophic hip injury he sustained in college while playing for Alabama, Tua was in his feelings. Cameras caught images of him coming back onto the field after the game to sit and take it all in. He seemed thankful to be back playing the game he loves, this time at the highest level.
Tua Tagovailoa went back to the field and he’s sitting around the 15-yard-line in full uniform. It looks like he’s soaking this moment in.
— Cameron Wolfe (@CameronWolfe) October 18, 2020
On November 16, 2019, Tua suffered a potentially career-ending injury. On October 18, 2020, he threw his first NFL passes. pic.twitter.com/q5OHSNQe2c
Tua on why he went back on the field and sat alone: "It was a very special moment for me because my parents weren't here so I wanted to sit close to where we ended our drive at and ended up FaceTiming my parents.... My parents normally never miss my game."
— Barry Jackson (@flasportsbuzz) October 18, 2020
As far as the game itself was concerned, it was a complete de-pantsing. Ex-Dolphins coach Adam Gase may soon be the ex-Jets coach following the embarrassment. His coaching career may have just come to an end in the same place it started. Life is crazy, y'all!
The Jets are now 0-6. Changes are inevitable. Their pain is hilarious. The only dilemma is while the sweet revenge of sending Gase back to update his LinkedIn profile feels great in the short term, having him stick around as long as possible as the Jets coach would have been nice. He's so bad, it's good.
Nevertheless, the Dolphins delivering an ass-kicking to the New York Jets will never get old and will always be right on time. Getting to see Tua at the tail end of the game was just an extremely delicious cherry on top.
— Jordan McPherson (@J_McPherson1126) October 18, 2020
The win for Miami means the Dolphins are suddenly a 3-3 football team that sits in sole possession of second place in the AFC East. That's right: After six games, the Dolphins are ahead of the New England Patriots in the standings — what a time to be alive.
The Dolphins have a bye week on the schedule next Sunday, but in a world where one positive COVID-19 test can throw the entire NFL into a frenzy, who truly knows? As of now, they're a 3-3 football team that has to feel good about their present and their future. That's not a bad place to be during your week off.
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