Patriots’ JC Jackson takes shot at Tua Tagovailoa

One member of the New England Patriots did not come away particularly impressed with Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa Sunday.

Patriots cornerback J.C. Jackson said the plan had been to confuse and unsettle Tagovailoa. He hinted at part of the reason with a clear shot at the Miami quarterback, essentially saying that when defenses take away Tagovailoa’s first read, the young QB throws up a prayer.

J.C. Jackson says he felt like the back end did a nice job keeping Tua Tagovailoa on his toes and confusing him.

Jackson added on the INT: “That’s what Tua do. If he doesn’t have his first read, he’s just gonna throw the ball up.”

— Henry McKenna (@McKennAnalysis) September 13, 2021

Tagovailoa’s lone interception Sunday came when he made a desperate attempt to throw the ball away while under heavy pressure. The ball didn’t make it to the sideline, and was instead intercepted by New England’s Jonathan Jones.

Tagovailoa made clear he wasn’t completely comfortable in the offense as a rookie, and perhaps that helped form the perception of his reads. Still, despite Miami’s 17-16 win, he probably didn’t win over many converts on Sunday. It’s certainly something that still appears to need some work.