No quarterback this side of Eli Manning has enjoyed more success against Bill Belichick than Tua Tagovailoa. With Miami's 24-17 win over the Patriots on Sunday night, the Dolphins quarterback is now a perfect 5-0 in his starts against New England. That's the best record (including playoffs) of any quarterback against the hooded head coach throughout his Hall of Fame-caliber tenure in the league. Those five regular season wins are also tied for the most ever against Belichick.
Even with that pristine record, it doesn't sound like New England is overly impressed by what they've seen from Tagovailoa. Following the Week 2 loss, Patriots defensive lineman Deatrich Wise Jr was asked about Tagovailoa's success against them and what he does that seems to get the better of them on a consistent basis.
"He doesn't do anything special," Wise said. "He's a very good quarterback. Reads his reads. Today, he was getting the ball out a little faster and our rush wasn't really getting there. That's something that we do know, but we'll definitely work hard to change that record."
Tagovailoa was 21 of 30 in this game for 249 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. While it was not a prolific showing like the one he had in Week 1 against the Chargers where he threw for 466 yards, Tagovailoa did flash some brilliance in this game with a couple of tight window throws, specifically this one in the second quarter to Braxton Berrios that later set up a Tyreek Hill touchdowns.
.@tua finds @HNYNUT_BERRIOS for this clean connection 😮💨
— NFL (@NFL) September 18, 2023
📺: #MIAvsNE on NBC
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/FhXtx7w3wW pic.twitter.com/3V7n9BY73i
Wise -- like a lot of Patriots postgame -- was lamenting that they continue to beat themselves, which could have been the genesis of his comment about Tagovailoa. This loss drops the Patriots to 0-2 for the first time since the 2001 season.
"I feel like we're a great team," said Wise. "I feel like we've showed great things these last two games. We've showed great plays, great attributes. We've showed really promising things. We just need to keep working, keep trusting the process, keep putting it together, and things are going to turn around."
The Patriots will look to turn their season around when they travel to MetLife Stadium for a Week 3 matchup with the Jets. They'll also get to see Tagovailoa again and look to hand him his first-ever loss against the franchise in Week 8 when they head down to Hard Rock Stadium.