National Football League

Is Tua Tagovailoa an MVP candidate? Plus, analysis of Jets, Bills, Patriots

Updated Nov. 7, 2022 11:33 p.m. ET

The Miami Dolphins defense, plagued by injuries, has collapsed in recent weeks. As a result, coach Mike McDaniel has asked more of Tua Tagovailoa, who has been absolutely stellar. And it doesn't feel like he's getting enough love.

The AFC East's other quarterbacks have been more interesting to discuss.

Is Josh Allen the best QB in the NFL?

Should the Patriots bench Mac Jones for Bailey Zappe?

Can Zach Wilson develop into the Jets' QB of the future?

Those storylines have been more compelling than Tagovailoa's overwhelming competence in the Dolphins offense. It's clear that Tua isn't doing it on his own. Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle are clearly the best receiver tandem in the NFL, and they're elevating his game.

Still, Tagovailoa is seventh in the NFL in yards per game and first in yards per attempt (for QBs who have attempted more than five passes this season). And although every other AFC East quarterback has struggled with turnovers this season, Tua has not. He has 15 touchdowns to three interceptions over seven games played.

That's outstanding.

Tua, Tyreek lead Dolphins to a big win

Craig Carton says it may be time to give Tua Tagovailoa some credit. The Miami QB is undefeated since coming out of concussion protocol, and Greg Jennings agrees with Craig that Tagovailoa has been showing up big for the Dolphins.

"He didn't really give the defense an opportunity to take the ball away," McDaniel said Sunday after the Dolphins beat the Bears 35-32 in Chicago. Tagovailoa threw for 302 yards and three touchdowns with no picks.

He has looked like an entirely different player from 2021, when he threw for 16 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 13 games. This 2022 version has been studly. Tagovailoa seems to be the absolute perfect quarterback for McDaniel's system. It's remarkable, too, when considering how briefly they've been working together.

"In seven months' time, the growth has been unbelievable in how he's playing the position, learning the whole system, and then how he's handling the ebbs and flows of natural in-game momentum," McDaniel said.

The Dolphins offense was a mess without Tua. And it's been brilliant with him. I don't think Tagovailoa is the obvious favorite for the MVP award — Patrick Mahomes is right up there. But I do think Tagovailoa deserves more support than he's getting. Over the past few weeks, he has played as well as — or better than — Allen. Tagovailoa is putting up elite statistics in one of the NFL's most impressive offenses. What's not to like?

Here are more takeaways around the AFC East.

The Jets' winning drive was all about the ground game — and clock management

In their upset 20-17 victory Sunday, the Jets' game-winning drive was an example of what they do best and why it's so frustrating for opponents. They tortured the Buffalo Bills with eight consecutive running plays. On those eight plays, they averaged 9.1 yards per carry. They also bled six minutes and 10 seconds off the clock and forced the Bills into taking all three timeouts.

"From a defensive standpoint, it sucks. I can tell you that much," head coach Robert Saleh said when asked about the Jets' effectiveness running on that final drive. "I've always said, I'd rather have someone throw for 400, 500 yards than run for 200 or 300 yards. When you line up and are throwing your best punch and you're still being leaned on for five yards a pop, that's miserable. Credit to our offense. Credit to Mike [LaFleur] to stick with it."

Though the game was tied 17-17 on the Jets' final drive, Saleh trusted his running backs and eventually his defense to win.

The tactic did, indeed, frustrate the Bills.

"Yeah, it was crazy. Eight runs in a row. Jeeze," Buffalo DE Von Miller said.

Middle linebacker Tremaine Edmunds told me "for sure" he was frustrated on that drive.

Jets' upset win over Bills has Craig eating his words

Greg Jennings joins Craig Carton on The Carton Show to weigh in on the Jets' upset of the Bills. Craig had predicted that New York would lose by 40.

With Breece Hall out with a torn ACL, offensive coordinator LaFleur used James Robinson and Michael Carter to propel the team to the 18-yard line. When the coaching staff finally asked Wilson to throw on that drive on a third-and-5, he found rookie Garrett Wilson, who finished the game with eight catches for 92 yards. But then Wilson went back to being an accessory. He was not a driving force in the win. He was 18-of-25 for 154 passing yards and one touchdown. He rushed for 24 more yards.

Carter did his best Hall impression, with 12 carries for 76 yards. Robinson was solid in his first game as a Jet with 13 carries for 48 yards.

"We didn't stop the run. We gave them opportunities to play-action us, make easy reads for the quarterback. When you don't stop the run, the whole offense is open," Bills cornerback Taron Johnson told FOX Sports postgame.

Even when the Jets settled for a field goal, the logic looked sound. The Bills hadn't been able to move the ball. Sure, it's never smart to give the ball back to Allen with nearly two minutes left. But he'd also thrown two interceptions. He'd struggled to complete passes and read the Jets. New York's defense was in control.

The defense continued its hot streak. The Bills' final drive was pure dysfunction. Tight end Dawson Knox committed a holding penalty on the final drive. Jets defensive end Bryce Huff managed a strip sack on second down for a nine-yard loss. And then Allen fired incomplete on third and fourth down, including an absolute bomb to Stefon Diggs with Sauce Gardner in coverage.

"We just beat ourselves today," Gabe Davis told FOX Sports. "I don't think it had anything to do with the Jets. … It was just us. Should've made some plays and avoided some penalties."

At what point will Allen get his turnover problem in control?

I felt like a crazy person, because I have been writing, for weeks, that Allen's turnover problems would cost the Bills a win. It felt overly critical to continually point out that the Bills were winning despite Allen's persistent turnovers.

But this was the game that I thought Allen was due.

He threw two careless interceptions, and those possessions cost Buffalo. He knew that his turnovers allowed Aaron Rodgers and the Packers back in the game last week. This week, he didn't seem to learn his lesson.

"We played a good game, if a quarterback plays like s---, made some bad decisions tonight that really cost our team," Allen said. "That's not the standard we hold ourselves to, it's not the ball that we play so [there's] lots to look at [and] lots to learn from."

Allen said his first interception was a product of not seeing Jets safety Jordan Whitehead, who undercut Knox's route. The second? "A brain fart," Allen said. It seemed he and Davis were not on the same page.

There were times when the Bills offense felt singularly minded. Allen looked like he wanted to drop back and pass to Diggs. If that didn't work, the QB would tuck the ball and run. Buffalo hasn't been able to get production out of its other skill players. That's partly why the Bills traded for running back Nyheim Hines last week— and why the Bills might pursue receiver Odell Beckham Jr. when he's ready to return from his ACL rehab.

If Allen didn't have to force the ball to his pass-catchers not named Diggs, maybe he'd be making more sound decisions.

Patriots outside linebacker Matthew Judon is playing out of his mind

Judon is leading the NFL in sacks, and I can't help but feel the same way that Adrian Phillips feels.

"It is wild no one is talking about that more," the Patriots safety said postgame Sunday.

At the midpoint of the season, Judon has 11.5 sacks after putting up three against the Indianapolis Colts in the Patriots' 26-3 win. After seeing what the Jets did to the Bills, New England's Week 8 win in New Jersey looks even more impressive. The Patriots defense is legit.

Colts coach Frank Reich, who was fired Monday morning, said his team had a plan for Judon. But Steve Belichick and Jerod Mayo, the Patriots' defensive leaders, got their star outside linebacker on the move. Indy had no answer for Judon.

"When the opponent sees that tape, they are thinking about him and his plays before they close their eyes at night," Phillips said.

Judon's outstanding play has helped bring life to defensive end Deatrich Wise. New England seems to trust Wise as an every-down defender, which has boosted his stat production. But Wise has also been a beneficiary of Judon's tremendous success. Wise has 32 tackles and a career-high 5.5 sacks. You don't often see a player break out in his sixth season. But it's a nice pairing of player development and a strong supporting cast boosting his play.

"He's a very electrifying player," Wise said of Judon. "Once he makes his play, you can see the morale of the team is building, the confidence of the team rising, our defense getting better and better, playing with more confidence, playing faster. He's one hell of a player."

If New England is going to remain competitive in this insanely crowded AFC East, it will have to lean into its defense. That will mean getting the most out of Judon every week.

New England is still fiddling with offensive line, including benching its 2022 first-rounder

The Patriots have long been known for plugging and playing offensive linemen. Under former offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia, New England seemed able to put in whomever it wanted and the line would be just fine. But that has not been the case this season with Matt Patricia running the offensive line (and, so far as we can tell, the whole offense).

The Patriots have allowed far too much pressure on Mac Jones, who does not seem to be seeing the field as well as he did last season. Certainly, Jones has struggled with scoring and is throwing more interceptions per game than he did in his rookie season. The quarterback's regression has been real. It's why the Patriots had a QB controversy for a few weeks. A part of it seems to be that they overloaded Jones with information and responsibility this offseason when they streamlined the offense.

The other factor is the offensive line's struggles.

So New England has done what it can to find the right combination of players. The Patriots benched guard Cole Strange, the No. 29 pick in the draft, in favor of Isaiah Wynn, whom the team benched at right tackle. Marcus Cannon and Yodny Cajuste have also played at right tackle. Even Trent Brown, whom the team moved to left tackle this offseason, has had a few rough games. He has remained at that spot all season.

It will be interesting to see if the Patriots can find a more effective combination. For Jones' sake, they need to figure out how to improve quickly.

Prior to joining FOX Sports as the AFC East reporter, Henry McKenna spent seven years covering the Patriots for USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Boston Globe Media. Follow him on Twitter at @McKennAnalysis.