Tua Tagovailoa solid again, boosted by rookie Jaylen Waddle

MIAMI GARDENS — It's gotten to the point where neither Tua Tagovailoa nor Jaylen Waddle expect the ball to ever hit the ground once it's in the air.

"He was pretty mad at me," Waddle said with a smile after Sunday's defeat of the Giants. "I dropped the ball. He was upset. That's all right. It comes with it."

Tagovailoa targeted Waddle 11 times in the Dolphins' victory, and the rookie caught nine passes for 90 yards. Yes, there was one drop.

But Waddle has been a revelation. He is boosting Tagovailoa's sophomore season.

The Alabama chemistry is real. And it's fun to watch.

"Roll Tide," Tagovailoa said at the end of his Sunday press conference.

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Tua wasn't entirely thrilled with his performance. The Dolphins won 20-9 and Tagovailoa completed 30 of 41 passes for 244 yards, with 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions.

"I think of the overall offense," Tagovailoa said. "I think we can get better. I think we can continue to get better. Find ways to get better. And that's what this bye gives us. A chance to self-scout. Look at the things that we can clean up. Work on. Implement."

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The Dolphins have won five consecutive games and Tua has made giant strides forward in that stretch. In four straight games, and five of six, Tua has exceeded a passer rating of 100.0. He's been highly efficient.

"He played like himself," Waddle said. "He played great. Accurate."

Tagovailoa completed 73 percent of his passes, after topping 80 percent in his previous two starts. Yes, Miami punted six times, including four at the start of the second half.

But Tua was a bit unduly hard on himself.

In his last three games, Tua has five touchdowns and one interception. He's taking care of the football, which is Mission 1 per head coach Brian Flores.

Tua has led some long scoring drives. He's played well in fourth quarters. And he's improving, which is what any franchise would want to see at the 17 career start marker.

Waddle has proven an ability to get open on the field. And lately, he's been opening up a bit in news conferences, too.

Waddle has been enjoying the attention given to his "Waddle Waddle" touchdown dance, in which he emulates a penguin. The dance was demonstrated by Waddle on Sunday's FOX NFL pregame show.

Rapper SoLo D has even released a popular new rap song, "Waddle Wit It."

"My Mom sent it to me," Waddle said. "She enjoyed it. I enjoyed it too. Pretty cool."

It turns out that Sunday was the day Waddle surpassed Jarvis Landry's club record for catches by a rookie. And there are four games to play.

"It's big," Waddle said. "I really didn't know until they put it on the screen and everybody was cheering. I was like it's pretty cool. I think it's great to have."

Waddle is one of three rookies paying immediate positive dividends for the Dolphins. He brings talent, energy and excitement.

At one point in the second half, Waddle was being attended to by trainers due to what turned out to be cramps. Once Waddle began walking off the field, fans at Hard Rock Stadium started to chant, "Waddle! Waddle! Waddle!"

Waddle began to wave his arms to entice the crowd. It was a memorable moment.

"Everybody cheering," Waddle said. "It means a lot."

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Jaylen Waddle, Tua Tagovailoa have it going for streaking Dolphins