It was a scary scene on Thursday night in the National Football League (NFL) as Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was sacked and driven to the ground by Cincinnati Bengals’ Josh Tupou. Tagovailoa landed hard on his head and immediately seemed to lose consciousness, even sending his body into visible shock as his hands contracted over his head – a part of the response to brain trauma that had fans concerned. Tagovailoa left the field after a long pause on a stretcher and was brought immediately to a hospital in Cincinnati, very clearly done for the game, and perhaps his career, though thankfully he would leave the hospital moving normally the next day. That night, fans and people in sports media had a take on the matter.
Some believe that Tagovailoa was never cleared by the NFL’s concussion protocols after suffering an injury the previous week that some thought was a concussion, but was listed as a neck and back injury by the Dolphins. It should be noted that Tagovailoa has a lengthy injury history, going back to his college days at the University of Alabama. He sat out with injuries for parts of the 2018 and 2019 seasons.
While fans are upset specifically with the NFL and the Dolphins, it shouldn’t be blamed on either party, as there has still been no evidence that Tagovailoa suffered a concussion the game previous to Thursday night. Perhaps the Dolphins were reckless in playing him with the neck and back injury, but, in the world of sports, every athlete has played while not at their physical best, mainly due to their competitive nature. It happens all of the time, right or wrong. It likely wasn’t the Dolphins telling him to play.
Here is where a tiny bit of blame could possibly be placed on the NFL: Thursday Night Football (TNF). The league is of course interested in revenue and TV ratings, as a business would be. However, is playing games on Thursday night, just three nights after Sunday when most of the teams last played, a good idea? Probably not, as it gives players just three nights to recover physically from their last game. Many fans have commented over the years, since TNF began in 2006, that the games aren’t usually exciting as both teams playing often are tired, and that makes sense given the short week of preparation. Usually, the on-field product suffers as a result.
On top of Thursday Night Football, the past few seasons have seen the league focus on more football over anything else. An 18th week of regular-season games was added to the schedule in 2021, and also an expansion of the playoff format by one team in each conference.
While the NFL isn’t directly responsible for a hit on a quarterback that unfortunately led to injury, a part of the game sometimes, they can take some blame for the over-stimulation of football that gets put on TV. It’s simple: only play games on Sunday and one game on Monday night, and get rid of Thursday Night Football. It likely won’t hurt the league’s wallet and also may help to keep players on the field more going forward.
Ryan Goodwin can be reached at
rgoodwin@kscequinox.com
