As usual, the Miami Dolphins lost to their AFC East rival Buffalo Bills, but that is secondary to what happened to quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
Late in the third quarter, Tagovailoa scrambled for a first down inside Buffalo’s 10-yard line, but he lowered his head into Bills safety Damar Hamlin. Tagovailoa’s head fell against the turf, after which he appeared to go into the involuntary “fencing posture,” which is an indicator of head trauma.
Tua Tagovailoa, while trying to run for a first down, appears to suffer a potential brain injury (concussion). You can see he is reaching upward with his right hand awkwardly.
This is usually referred to as a ‘fencing’ response or posturing (see pic below), and sometimes occurs… pic.twitter.com/z3rifI606w
— Jesse Morse, MD (@DrJesseMorse) September 13, 2024
Tagovailoa was quickly ruled out for the game with a concussion. It’s the third diagnosed concussion of his NFL career. A suspected fourth concussion, also suffered against the Buffalo Bills in 2022, was controversially called a back injury and he was allowed to return to the game. The NFLPA fired the unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant who was in charge of evaluating Tagovailoa. Tua suffered his first official concussion just four days later against the Cincinnati Bengals, leaving the game on a stretcher.
From a football standpoint, it’s almost certain that the Seattle Seahawks will be facing the Skylar Thompson led Miami Dolphins on Sept. 22. Miami also lost left tackle Terron Armstead and left guard Robert Jones to injury, so the Dolphins offensive line figures to be heavily compromised.
Beyond football, you hope for the best for Tua and his qualify of life. To have this many suspected and confirmed concussions in such a short period of time puts more than just next week in doubt as far as Tagovailoa’s career and his general wellbeing. It is truly unfortunate and upsetting that this has happened to Tua again.
