Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert, amid all the constant comparisons with the Dolphins quarterback taken one pick ahead of him in 2020, played like he was in a different weight class than Tua Tagovailoa. Behind Herbert’ s stellar play and Tagovailoa’ s ineffectiveness against a defense that was missing five starters, the Chargers won, 23-17, dominating in.
It was a night of frustration in prime time for the Miami Dolphins.
Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert, amid all the constant comparisons with the Dolphins quarterback taken one pick ahead of him in 2020, played like he was in a different weight class than Tua Tagovailoa.
Behind Herbert’s stellar play and Tagovailoa’s ineffectiveness against a defense that was missing five starters, the Chargers won, 23-17, dominating in virtually every statistical category while the Dolphins still managed to keep the score close on Sunday night at SoFi Stadium.
“Football is a humbling game,” coach Mike McDaniel said. “These are the things that you have to learn as a team. Unfortunately, we had to learn it the hard way.”
Miami (8-5) loses back-to-back games on the West Coast after also falling to the San Francisco 49ers last week. The Dolphins remain in the No. 6 slot in the AFC, but their lead in the standings for a wild-card spot is down to one game over the Chargers and New York Jets, both which now own a tiebreaker over Miami.
Los Angeles (7-6) has gotten back into the playoff picture at No. 7 with the win and Jets’ loss earlier Sunday to the Buffalo Bills. The Dolphins now trail the Bills by two games in the AFC East with a game in Buffalo to come on Saturday night.
Herbert made all the throws, whether it was a deep ball to big target Mike Williams across his body to the opposite side of the field, a perfectly placed pass to the back of the end zone or any of a number of smart checkdowns to running back Austin Ekeler. He threw for 367 yards and a touchdown on 39-of-51 passing, methodically picking apart the Dolphins defense, even as it didn’t result in many points.
Tagovailoa, never in a rhythm, was a pedestrian 10 of 28 for 145 yards and a deep touchdown to Tyreek Hill. Los Angeles, despite missing safety Derwin James, cornerbacks J.C. Jackson and Bryce Callahan and edge rusher Joey Bosa, decided it would stay true to its identity and play man coverage against the Dolphins’ standout receiving tandem of Hill and Jaylen Waddle, and it worked.
“For us to go out there as an offense and kind of show us what we showed, that’s not to our standard,” said Tagovailoa after struggling for a second straight game.
