Michael David Smith ,
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It’s not often that a coach is happy to see his quarterback throw interceptions. But Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said after Sunday’s game that he was happy with both of the interceptions thrown by Tua Tagovailoa.
That’s because both of them were deep balls on third-and-long that served as arm punts: Interceptions that were better for the offense than throwing an incompletion and then punting on fourth down.
Tagovailoa’s first interception came on third-and-11. The pass was picked off 41 yards downfield, and the Bills didn’t gain any yardage on the return. So it was the same as an incompletion followed by a punt with a net of 41 yards.
Tagovailoa’s second interception came on third-and-9. The pass was picked off 43 yards downfield, and the Bills actually lost 11 yards from there thanks to a penalty on the return. So it was the same as an incompletion followed by a punt with a net of 54 yards.
Effectively, Tagovailoa’s two interceptions were two arm punts with a net average of 47.5 yards. Across the NFL, the average punt nets 40.9 yards. So Tagovailoa’s interceptions were both actually better than an average punt.
McDaniel explained after the game why he liked seeing that.
“I was actually really pumped. I told Tua on some third down calls to let it rip down the field and operate it as an opportunity ball to act as a punt,” McDaniel said.
Both interceptions did act as punts, pinning the Bills in their own territory on a day when the Dolphins controlled the game and pulled off a big upset.
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