After a big game in Week 8 against the Atlanta Falcons, spirits were high for the Miami Dolphins heading into the Week 9 Thursday Night Football matchup against the Baltimore Ravens, amidst a tough start to the 2025 NFL season.
During the pregame, Amazon Prime caught Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa’s speech to his team in the tunnel. Before the game, it didn’t seem too bad, but after another tough outing on national television, fans clowned Miami’s starting quarterback as it didn’t quite seem to move the needle.
Fans Clown Tua Tagovailoa’s Pregame Speech
Following a massive 34-10 win over the Atlanta Falcons in Week 8, the vibe surrounding the Dolphins organization perked up a bit. Despite a tough start and the absence of wide receiver Tyreek Hill, the victory was a clean operation after weeks of struggles.
With emotions running high, Tagovailoa delivered a speech in the tunnel to his team before the game, saying, “Listen up, we got 60 minutes, 60 minutes tonight. Four hours of pain, four hours of making them feel you. Ay, once we get out there, let’s light the game and go do what we do best.”
???? Tua Tagovailoa leading and rallying the troops out of the tunnel ♨️ (@NFLonPrime) #PhinsUp pic.twitter.com/f498myhdGb
— FinsXtra (@FinsXtra) October 30, 2025
Unfortunately for Tagovailoa and the Dolphins’ offense, “go do what we do best” meant scoring six points, with Tagovailoa completing 25 of 40 passes for 261 yards and an interception. After re-examining that pregame speech, fans were quick to criticize the QB, with one user saying, “Not a single person is moved.”
Not a single person is moved ????
— Cameron 西 (@ClarkY_UK) October 31, 2025
However, many fans pointed out how forced the leadership from both Tagovailoa and head coach Mike McDaniel feels, with this fan explaining, “It really is the most cringe thing to see Tua and McDaniel pretend to be leaders that they aren’t. Dudes…just be yourselves.”
It really is the most cringe thing to see Tua and McDaniel pretend to be leaders that they aren’t. Dudes… just be yourselves
— Dubs (@bubidub) October 31, 2025
However, many fans simply couldn’t find the motivation in the speech. If someone is supposedly the leader of the team, they have to instill passion within you in moments like this, when the team is ready to head onto the field before the game. However, many fans couldn’t feel it at all, with another fan saying, “He could put me to sleep, I’ll give him that.”
he could put me to sleep I’ll give him that
— Huncho (@bballfan233) October 31, 2025
“Omg this is so bad lol,” wrote another fan about Tagovailoa’s speech. One fan added, “Yeah, that was pretty sad.”
Tagovailoa hasn’t been the best in 2025, completing 68.8% of his passes for 1,518 yards, 15 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. He’ll need to turn things around quickly if he wants to maintain his job at center. Unfortunately, moments like this pregame speech don’t do him any favors in terms of his reputation. Based on PFSN’s QB Impact metric, Tagovailoa is the 19th-ranked quarterback in the league with an impact score of 75.0 and is graded C.