Teddy Bridgewater tried not to let himself think about how his 2021 season ended when he watched as Tua Tagovailoa was taken off the field on Thursday night. Tagovailoa was injured Thursday night against the same team that was ejected from Bridgewater with a concussion against the Bengals in December.
Bridgewater and his other teammates stood in silence as the Dolphins trainer helped Tagovaloa after suffering head and neck injuries at the end of the first half of Thursday night’s game. Tagovailoa was treated at a nearby hospital before being discharged and is expected to fly back to Miami with teammates.
“It’s pretty scary,” Bridgewater said of the situation. “It’s part of the game and it sucks. It’s fun to score touchdowns and play, but that’s one aspect of the game that’s really bad.”
Bridgewater said “a lot of things went through my mind” after seeing Tagovailoa being kicked off the field. He was able to put those thoughts aside for a moment and help the Heat take the lead heading into the fourth quarter. However, the Bengals scored three straight games in the fourth quarter as the home team won 27-15 while the Dolphins lost for the first time this season.
“I knew I had to (get out of trouble) and try to lead this team to victory,” said Bridgewater, who threw for 193 yards on touchdowns and interceptions. “Knowing that so many people were counting on not only me, but us to finish that game and try to win. In the end, we lost.”
Bridgewater and his teammates received good news when they entered the dressing room, when they were told Tagovaloya was being discharged.
“You can see people are in high spirits,” Bridgewater said. “That’s good news. Especially after the results. It’s good news.”
While he was also kicked off the pitch after suffering a concussion, Bridgewater was unable to say what he was thinking when he was kicked off the pitch.
“I can’t answer that because I don’t remember anything until I wake up in the hospital,” he said. “They said I woke up in the back of the truck, but I don’t remember what CAT scans and MRIs I had.”
Throughout the second half of Thursday night’s game, Bridgewater did his best to focus on his work. Although they failed to win the game, Bridgewater is proud of the effort he and his teammates put into the situation.
“There’s a lot going on throughout the night that we can learn from going forward,” Bridgewater said. “Especially tonight, it can get you into trouble or you can stay mentally stable and be able to hey, I Just got work to do…I know we have a lot of men who rely on me to go out and play as a side job.”