Based on this season, the Miami Dolphins have their franchise passer in Tua Tagovailoa proving a lot of people wrong, including this writer, but now he’s showing even more than that. Tagovailoa is a real MVP candidate — a real candidate, not someone trodden down by the media. When Dolphins fans chanted “MVP” late in Miami’s win over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, it wasn’t out of line that the fans were just booing their guy. It’s real. Look at the numbers. The Dolphins are 7-3, atop the AFC East and would be the second seed in the AFC if the playoffs started today. They got there behind a potent offense that makes Sundays look like seven-on-seven drills for their offense, with guys seemingly always open and Tagovailoa usually on time and accurate with his shots. To say Tagovailoa has improved doesn’t do justice to what he’s become as a player and passer. Let me state the obvious again: I was wrong about him. Big time. I’ve been wrong about quarterbacks before, but this one seems to be crazy. Credit goes to Tagovailoa for shunning all of us doubters and seemingly using that to fuel his rise as a top quarterback in the league. He admitted to doing the same in previous interviews. There were times when Tagovailoa made some comments that made you believe he was bothered by the doubters. Nothing malicious, just a chip that seemed to drive him. It worked, which is why it’s in the MVP conversation. Look at his numbers. He leads the NFL in passer rating at 118.4, is second to Seattle’s Geno Smith in completion percentage at 71.0, leads all quarterbacks in yards per attempt at 9.1 and has 18 touchdown passes against three picks. The Dolphins are 7-1 in games he’s started, with the lone loss coming in the game he sat out with a concussion. That moves them up to No. 4 in my power rankings this week as they head into their bye. Third down and in the red zone is where quarterbacks make their money in the NFL. Tagovailoa leads the NFL in passer rating at third by a wide margin with an astounding 149.8 rating, which is near perfect. He has nine touchdowns and no picks on third down. In the red zone he has 14 touchdown passes and no picks. He also has a 67.7 completion percentage in the red zone, which is among the best in the league, and has a 118.8 rating, which is tops among current starters in the league. There’s no doubt that Tagovailoa’s game has gotten a big boost from the addition of speedy receiver Tyreek Hill, the development of second-year receiver Jaylen Waddle and the brilliant offensive mind of coach Mike McDaniel. But Tagovailoa also deserves his share. He went from being a player that the team considered trading multiple times to an MVP candidate. That’s a good twist, one that has the Dolphins as a potential Super Bowl team and one that certainly has Tua looking at all that evidence he kept from the doubters. The biggest movers
Rk Team’s Chg Rcrd 1 Chiefs They have grabbed the top spot in the AFC, which they may not give away. They have adjusted well to not having Tyreek Hill on offense and the defense is improving every week. 1 7-2-0 2 Eagles If they don’t fix their run defense, they will have more losses the rest of the way. You can’t play defense like that and win in the playoffs. 1 8-1-0 3 Vikings Time to believe in this team. They may not always be pretty, but they do the job. They face a tough game this week against Dallas. — 8-1-0 4 Dolphins They are in first place in the AFC East and continue to be an offensive show. Tua Tagovailoa is in the MVP conversation. 2 7-3-0 5 Bills They have lost two games in a row and have now dropped to third place in their division. Josh Allen needs to stop throwing picks. 1 6-3-0 6 Ravens Coming off a first-place bye in the division with a soft schedule coming up. It’s their time to step up. 1 6-3-0 7 Titans They are 6-3 and lead their division as they head to Green Bay to play the Packers. They are a tough team that can fight through a lot of injuries to win games. 1 6-3-0 8 Cowboys Losing on the road to the Packers is a bad loss. Dak Prescott has to be better than he played for stretches in that game and the defense blew them away with a 14 point lead. 3 6-3-0 9 49ers Watch out for this team. When healthy, they might end up being the best in the NFC. They get it right. 1 5-4-0 10 Bengals Off with a Division I road game at Pittsburgh. The offense was really clicking before the bye, so they can make a strong playoff push down the stretch. 1 5-4-0 11 Giants Saquon Barkley is carrying this team right now as it continues to look like a playoff team. Brian Daboll has done a great job. 1 7-2-0 12 Seahawks They are 6-4 after the loss to the Bucs. But they did show something to make it interesting in the fourth quarter. 3 6-4-0 13 Patriots Bye with a huge division game against the Jets, a team they defeated three weeks ago. The division is now wide open, so it’s a big game. — 5-4-0 14 Jets They are clearly overmatched as they sit in second place in the AFC East. But now they face another proven game against the Pats on the road. — 6-3-0 15 Chargers Lost a tough game to the 49ers and now face a big home division game against the Chiefs. To have any chance of winning the AFC West, they need to win this week. –…