The Miami Dolphins played host to the Buffalo Bills on Thursday night in a big game in the AFC East, but what many hoped would be a competitive and fun Thursday Night Football game quickly became a Bills blowout.
Buffalo took a 24-10 lead into halftime, picking off Tua Tagovailoa three times, and the Dolphins offense lacked the explosiveness down the field that makes it so dangerous. In the third quarter, Buffalo opened that lead up to 31-10 and then disaster struck for Tagovailoa and the Dolphins as they were driving deep into Bills territory. On a 4th and 4, Tagovailoa took off on a run up the middle for the first down, but ducked his head into a defender as he fought for more yards and went into an apparent fencing response as he fell to the ground (video here).
Players on both sides quickly called to the sidelines for medical attention, and Tagovailoa would eventually walk off the field under his own power. However, he was quickly ruled out for the game with a concussion, his fourth in three years. Three of those came in the 2022 season, including a terrifying scene in Cincinnati when he suffered his second concussion in as many weeks and had to get carted off the field. That caused him to contemplate retirement for his health, but he opted to continue playing and was more protective of taking hits in the 2023 season. Hopefully he will be able to make a full, speedy recovery from his latest concussion, but both he and the Dolphins will be extremely cautious moving forward given his history of head injuries.