Tua Tagovailoa VS Mac Jones: Season-Opener Showdown

Tua Tagovailoa and Mac Jones. Two names heard in the college football setting at the University of Alabama, but never heard in the NFL together. Until now.

Week one of the 2021 NFL season is finally on Sunday. For the Miami Dolphins, they’ll open their season for the second consecutive season against AFC East division-foe New England, but everything looks different. 

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Tagovailoa in Second Year with Fins, Jones Making Debut for Pats

Second year quarterback Tagovailoa will be under center for Miami for his first full season — and it will be Jones as the signal caller for the Patriots opposite him in week one.

New England head coach Bill Belichick drafted a QB the highest he ever has in his career, taking Jones No. 15 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft. He was expected to take a backseat to veteran Cam Newton, but all that changed when Newton was straight cut at the 53-man roster deadline in late August. 

One Question Remains: What Can We Expect from These Two Starting QBs in Week One? 

Jones is coming into his first year looking to make, really, any kind of a statement. During training camp and the preseason, Jones showed enough potential to get the starting role over former MVP Newton. So much so that Newton wasn’t demoted as his backup, but instead, off the team. Belichick has enough confidence in him after seeing what he did with Alabama during his three-year collegiate career and one year as the Crimson Tide starter.

His freshman year he saw limited playing time where he appeared in six games and completed five of 13 passes for 123 yards. Sophomore year he demonstrated major growth in the time period to where he got to play in 11 games and completed almost 69 percent of his passes (97-of-141) for over 1500 passing yards and 14 touchdowns. His junior year however was one for the ages. During that year, Jones was the starter and went 311-for-402 for 4500 yards, 41 touchdowns and only four interceptions. 

He was the successor to Tagovailoa, who never had a career QB passer rating less than 175 in college.

Tagovailoa is coming in with a year’s worth of experience in the NFL. 

He went from being a backup quarterback to Ryan Fitzpatrick to being the main guy for his team following the Dolphins’ adjusted bye week in 2020. 

Head coach Brian Flores developed and sustained enough confidence in Tagovailoa to allow him to start in nine games during his rookie season. He went 6-3 as the starter and helped the Dolphins secure a 10-6 overall record that almost got them into the playoffs. Miami’s signal caller has never finished a season, college or pro, with a losing record.

Tagovailoa went 186-for-290 for 1,814 yards and 11 TDs. He will be coming into the season looking to make his statement of growth during the offseason.

Who Has the Edge?

How will this matchup go in week one? It will be tough to say because high hopes are there for both QBs, but it will be one that will be worth watching. 

Tagovailoa looks like he should have the advantage based on his experience in the league, but Jones is not a player they should sleep on. That comes especially after he earned Belichick’s full trust to make him a starter. 

Kickoff between both teams is set for 4:25 p.m. eastern on Sunday. 

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– Daniel Roberts is a Sports Contributor for Full Press Coverage Miami Dolphins. Like and follow on Follow @dantheman1892 Follow @FPC_Dolphins and Facebook.