Tua Responds to Xavien Howard Saying Colts Forced Dolphins QB into 'Panic Mode'

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa says he has "a lot of respect" for his former teammate Xavien Howard despite recent criticism from the Indianapolis Colts cornerback.

Howard said after the Colts' Sunday blowout of the Dolphins that Tagovailoa went into "panic mode" after the Indianapolis defense took away his first read, per ESPN's Stephen Holder.

"I got to talk to him after the game. Still got a lot of respect for him," Tagovailoa said at the 4:30 mark of his Wednesday press conference. "I think, if you look at the games where I have performed, and done well, it's when I'm also getting off of my first read, and progressing, going through the progressions."

Tagovailoa went 14-for-23 with 114 passing yards, one touchdown and two interceptions while losing a fumble in the Colts' 33-8 season-opening blowout win.

The Dolphins quarterback did not record a single completion while under pressure, according to NFL Next Gen Stats data cited by NFL.com.

He also threw both interceptions while under no pressure from the Colts' defense, according to Next Gen Stats and NFL.com.

"We knew the guy, he gets the ball out pretty quick," Howard said during his Monday media availability. "And once we take away his first read, I feel like it's panic mode after that. And it showed yesterday, man. We took away his first read, and he was trying to get rid of the ball real quick."

Defensive end Laiatu Latu, who recorded one of the two picks on Tagovailoa for his first career interception, offered a similar impression: "You could just tell with the big eyes and him getting flustered," he said, per Holder.

Tagovailoa was picked off in just three of the 11 games he played in for the Dolphins last season.

But two of those games involved multiple interceptions each, including the three picks Tagovailoa threw against the Houston Texans in his penultimate game of the season.

According to ESPN research cited by Marcel Louis-Jacques, Sunday's season-opening loss marked the seventh time Tagovailoa has recorded at least three turnovers in a single game.

Only the Jacksonville Jaguars' Trevor Lawrence has more over the same span, per Louis-Jacques.

Tagovailoa expressed frustration when asked about the pattern of multi-turnover games during his postgame media availability.

"I wouldn't say I'm pressing. I would say it's part of the game. You obviously don't want to turn it over," Tagovailoa said. "I thought that was a wild comment, that I turned the ball over in bunches. That's crazy. It just so happened that's what happened today."

Tagovailoa was asked again about the question during his Wednesday press conference.

"It's not like I look to go out there and throw interceptions," Tagovailoa answered.

Tagovailoa wasn't the only Miami player struggling in Week 1, especially given that the pass defense was unable to stop Daniel Jones from racking up 9.4 yards per pass attempt in the Colts' win. The Dolphins will hope to see improvements on both sides of the ball before returning to action for Sunday's Week 2 matchup with the New England Patriots.