Clutch play by two Super Bowl QBs exactly what Dolphins need from Tua Tagovailoa | Habib

An interesting dynamic, this is, in which sources within the NFL are reporting on business about to take place within the NFL. Those well-placed sources say both Tua Tagovailoa and the Dolphins want to reach a contract agreement quickly so both sides can move on with their lives.

On the surface, it’s welcome news. The business of football will never be as interesting as the game of football — not unless you’re a numbers geek. And if you are one, the career-best stats Tagovailoa put up in 2023 are telling you he deserves Joe Burrow money and the Dolphins should be happy to pay it.

But maybe, just maybe, what we witnessed Sunday night should serve as a word of caution before committing $45 million or so annually. That’s not to say general manager Chris Grier shouldn’t ask Stephen Ross to sign the biggest player check he’s ever written for Tagovailoa. What it does mean is that before reaching that point of no return, the Dolphins owe it to themselves to take a hard look at how San Francisco’s Brock Purdy and especially Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes performed in the final 21 minutes of the Chiefs’ 25-22 Super Bowl victory and settle one question with their eyes.

The question: What would Tua do?

What, exactly, do we think he’d do if placed in the position those two QBs were in beginning when the Chiefs kicked a field goal to make it 16-all with 5:46 left in regulation? Time and again, both quarterbacks faced the most intense pressure possible, knowing everything they’d worked for since July rested on every throw and every decision. Third-down conversions, fourth-down conversions, clutch throws, cover-zero blitzes, gashing runs, a two-minute drill — Purdy and Mahomes faced it all. Excluding a meaningless kneel-down at the end of regulation, Purdy and Mahomes played Rocky and Apollo, landing their best shots on four possessions, each of which produced points that could have won a championship or preserved any hope of leading to one.

Taylor Swift was loving it, but Tom Brady and Michael Jordan probably loved it more.

Massive contract should come with massive expectations

You might say it’s an extreme example. That setting the bar this high is unrealistic. I’m not setting the bar anywhere. The money is. Whether we’re talking $45 million or just $45, when you dish out money, you expect a commensurate return on your investment.

It was about a month ago, after the Dolphins were frozen out of the playoffs by Mahomes and the Chiefs, that Grier said he hopes the club can lock up Tagovailoa "long term." A week ago, Tagovailoa had his say: "I believe that will happen."

The going rate for franchise QBs is in the $50 million range annually, which is what Burrow, Justin Herbert, Lamar Jackson and Jalen Hurts are getting, all via a minimum of $110 million guaranteed. You’ll notice none has a ring. For that, you’d have to skip down to No. 8 on the list, to Mahomes at $45 million annually, courtesy of his $450 million deal signed in 2020. Any way you figure it, it’s a massive salary cap commitment that will steer the direction of a franchise for years. Making the wrong call — in either direction — will steer that franchise into a ditch.

But if the Dolphins are correct that after years of whiffing, they finally have their man in Tagovailoa, that’s another story, and one where Purdy (and especially MVP Mahomes) comes in.

Purdy was first up, driving the 49ers 40 yards in seven plays for a 53-yard field goal and a 19-16 lead with 1:53 left in regulation. He was aggressive from the start, hitting Jauan Jennings deep for 23 yards.

“Every play can win you a Super Bowl — or lose you one,” CBS’ Tony Romo said.

A few plays after the 23-yard reception, the 49ers had a chance to clinch, facing a third-and-5 from the Chiefs’ 35. Get a first down and San Fran could kick a winning field goal as time expired. Instead, the Chiefs rushed six on a blitz, forcing an incompletion as Trent McDuffie was in Purdy’s face, and the 49ers kicked the field goal with time for the Chiefs to tie the game. Soon, though, Purdy would win a battle with McDuffie.

Patrick Mahomes does Patrick Mahomes things

Then, it was Mahomes’ turn on the hot seat. He was clutch on a third-and-2 when he hit Jerick McKinnon for 7 yards (rather than have to rely on a 61-yard field-goal try) and a third-and-7 when the 49ers only rushed four, allowing a 22-yard completion to Travis Kelce. That set up a chip-shot field goal and overtime.

Having won the coin toss and electing to receive in OT (more on this in a minute), Purdy and the 49ers faced multiple critical junctures. The Chiefs appeared to have the stop they needed on an incompletion when McDuffie was called for defensive holding on Jennings. Purdy hit Brandon Aiyuk for 11 yards on third-and-2 as George Kittle was inside receiving treatment. Purdy also tossed a short pass that Christian McCaffrey took for 24 yards. Purdy might have ended the drive with a touchdown to Jennings had it not been for Chris Jones crashing up the middle with pressure.

It again was Mahomes’ turn to counterpunch, which he did with an 8-yard run on a fourth-and-1 (failure would have ended the game) and a 19-yard run when he spotted a seam on third-and-1. Ironically, the easiest play of the drive for Mahomes was the championship-winner. He rolled right and found Mecole Hardman, who was wide open courtesy of Kelce running (legal) interference for him, for a 3-yard touchdown.

What’s particularly noteworthy: Of the 49ers’ five biggest plays all night, three came on Purdy passes in the fourth quarter or overtime. Of the Chiefs’ four biggest plays, two were via Mahomes’ arm in that same crunch time.

(On the other hand, the award for not-so-Super moves goes to the 49ers, who admitted they didn’t know the postseason rules for overtime, which tilt the advantage to the second side possessing the ball because that team knows whether it needs a field goal or touchdown to win. To not know whether you’re in a sudden-death situation is unconscionable. Contrast that to preparation Don Shula, so detailed that he once won a game with an onside free kick after giving up a safety.)

Tua Tagovailoa did come through in championship situation for Tide

Going back to the overriding issue: How would Tagovailoa have done? How will he do if he ever faces such a test in a Super Bowl? Nick Saban would have one fewer ring had it not been for Tagovailoa, but that’s on the collegiate level. In the NFL, there’s that wild comeback in 2022 in Baltimore in which Tagovailoa threw six touchdown passes. There’s not a ton of other evidence.

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Career highs in yardage (4,624) and touchdowns (29) in 2023 can’t be discounted, but neither can Tagovailoa’s 66.5 passer rating in the final three, critical games of the season, for a team that wasn’t afraid to talk Super Bowl.

“Well, I think it takes a lot more than what we probably thought, you know, we needed,” Tagovailoa said at the Pro Bowl. “We needed a little extra.”

Tagovailoa isn’t the first quarterback to come to that realization. He won’t be the last.

Franchises rating quarterbacks, however, aren’t afforded such luxuries.

Dolphins reporter Hal Habib can be reached at  hhabib@pbpost.com. Follow him on social media @gunnerhal. Click here to subscribe.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Brock Purdy, Patrick Mahomes show what Dolphins need from Tua Tagovailoa