NFL Fans Loved Mike McDaniel’s Sweet Gesture to Tua Tagovailoa After QB’s Injury

One could hear a pin drop inside Hard Rock Stadium when Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa went down in the third quarter of the Dolphins‘ 31–10 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Thursday night.

Scrambling to move the chains on fourth-and-4, Tagovailoa took a hit to the head by Bills safety Damar Hamlin and went down to the ground, showing signs of a potential head injury. Sure enough, the Dolphins officially ruled him out with a concussion several minutes later.

As Tagovailoa walked off the field on his own accord, Miami coach Mike McDaniel strolled right at his side. And before the two parted ways, McDaniel leaned over and gave Tagovailoa a kiss on the forehead.

“My thought was concern. I was just worried about my guy,” McDaniel told reporters after the game. “It’s not something that you ever want to be a part of. You hope not to.

“For me, I’m not worried about anything that’s out of my hands. I’m just worried about the human being.”

McDaniel and Tagovailoa have been joined at the hip since the 41-year-old coach took over the Dolphins in 2022. At the time of McDaniel’s hiring, Tagovailoa’s NFL future looked uncertain after a shaky first two seasons under center. But he took a step forward in ’22, and Tagovailoa led the NFL with 4,624 passing yards across 17 games in ’23.

NFL fans appreciated seeing McDaniel’s loving gesture to his quarterback: