Joe Burrow tossed a late two-yard touchdown pass to Hayden Hurst to seal a 27-15 win for the Cincinnati Bengals over Miami in a Thursday night in a game marred by the horrific sight of Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa being taken off on a stretcher.
Tagovailoa was chased down and thrown to the turf by Cincinnati’s Josh Tupou in the first half. He remained down for more than seven minutes before being taken to a hospital with reported head and neck injuries.
Vonn Bell’s interception of Miami backup quarterback Teddy Bridgewater – the safety’s second pick of the night – with three minutes left in the game set up the Bengals’ final drive.
Evan McPherson kicked two fourth-quarter field goals – including a 57-yarder.
Burrow was 20 for 31 for 287 yards and two touchdowns as the Bengals won their second game in five days after dropping the first of the season. Tee Higgins caught seven passes for 124 yards and a TD.
Bridgewater threw an incomplete pass on Miami’s final drive to turn the ball over on downs with 57 seconds left.
Tagovailoa was 8 for 14 for 110 yards and an interception before his injury. Bridgewater finished 14 for 23 for 193 yards, a touchdown and an interception in relief.
Tagovailoa injury
The Dolphins said Tagovailoa was conscious, had movement in all his extremities and was taken to University of Cincinnati Medical Center for further evaluation.
Tagovailoa was sacked by Tupou with about six minutes left in the first half. He was spun around and thrown to the turf. While on the ground, his hands froze in front of his face. He remained down for more than seven minutes before being loaded on a backboard, stabilized and strapped to a stretcher after his facemask was removed.
Dolphins players gathered around as Tagovailoa was rolled off the field and the crowd chanted “Tua! Tua!”
Reaction came swiftly from around the NFL. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Broncos QB Russell Wilson promptly tweeted with concern for Tagovailoa’s well-being.
“Praying for you Tua,” Wilson wrote.
The 24-year-old Tagovailoa was suffering from a sore back and was listed as questionable for most of the week ahead of the game.
Tagovailoa briefly left Sunday’s 21-19 victory over the Buffalo Bills after appearing to be disoriented by what the team originally said was a head injury after taking a hard hit from Bills linebacker Matt Milano late in the first half. He missed just three snaps and returned after halftime, a decision that prompted a joint review by the NFL and National Football League Players Association of what went into the decision to allow him to return to the game.
Player health and safety is at the core of the union’s mission. Our concern tonight is for Tua and we hope for a full and speedy recovery. Our investigation into the potential protocol violation is ongoing.
— NFLPA (@NFLPA) September 30, 2022
The team and Tagovailoa said after the game the quarterback had a back injury that caused his awkward stumble and fall after he was slammed into the turf in the second quarter. The team said Monday that Tagovailoa was not in concussion protocol.
He said he “hyper-extended” his back after getting his legs caught under someone on a quarterback sneak.
Some criticized the decision to play Tagovailoa so soon after his injuries in Sunday’s game.
Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe tweeted: “That’s a serious injury . Tua shouldn’t have been out there with Sunday Thursday turn around. Sometimes players need protecting from themselves. Dolphins failed Tua.”
Before leaving Thursday’s game, Tagovailoa was 8 for 14 for 100 yards and an interception. He was replaced in the game by Teddy Bridgewater, who threw a touchdown pass to Chase Edmonds with 15 seconds left in the half.
The play of Tagovailoa, who won a national championship at Alabama, has been key for the 3-0 Dolphins. He came into the game second in the NFL with 925 passing yards.