Washington (AFP) – Former University of Alabama teammates Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts, now superstar quarterbacks, face each other in the NFL for the first time Sunday in a possible Super Bowl preview.
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Tagovailoa will direct the Miami Dolphins into Philadelphia on Sunday for a much-anticipated showdown of 5-1 division leaders.
“I know it’ll be a good game and I don’t think of it as a Super Bowl preview or anything like that,” said Tagovailoa. “This is another team we’re preparing for and for us to get to where we want to go to, we’ve got to play this game.”
The Eagles seek their third Super Bowl trip in seven seasons while the Dolphins haven’t played in a Super Bowl since 1985.
Hurts was the star quarterback at Alabama in 2017 with Tagovailoa his backup until the national college championship game. Struggling Hurts was benched and Tagovailoa sparked a fightback that produced an overtime title-winning touchdown pass to beat rival Georgia.
Hurts settled for a backup role in 2018 but when Tagovailoa was injured, Hurts helped Alabama to another comeback victory over Georgia in a conference final.
Tagovailoa would return, Hurts would transfer to Oklahoma and both would make their way into the NFL, setting the stage for a dramatic reunion.
“There’s different ways to skin the cat, right? Many different ways,” Tagovailoa said. “He went down a different road than I did to get to where I’m at. And he had to go down a different road to get to where he’s at.
“I got a lot of respect for him, who he is as a person, who he is as a player and wish him the best of luck as we play him.”
Thanks to Tagovailoa, the Dolphins lead the NFL with 316.8 passing yards a game and 13.7 yards a catch.
Tagovailoa has completed 140 of 197 passes for 1,876 yards and a league-high 14 touchdowns with five interceptions with his top target being Tyreek Hill, who has 42 catches for an NFL-best 814 yards and six touchdowns.
“It has been great to see the things he has been able to do over his career,” Hurts said. “Hoping for continued success.”
Hurts guided the Eagles to last season’s Super Bowl, where they lost to Kansas City. He struggled last week with three interceptions in a loss to the New York Jets but downplays any notion there’s extra motivation going against Tagovailoa.
“We’re just going to go out there and try to play our best game,” he said.
Hurts has thrown for 1,542 yards with seven touchdowns and seven interceptions and has run for 253 yards and five touchdowns.
“We’ll probably see each other before the game to wish each other luck, but at the end of the day, we’re both trying to help our teams win,” Tagovailoa said.
“I got a lot of respect for Jalen. He has been a great competitor since I got there to Alabama. He has been a special player.”
Lions visit Ravens
There’s another matchup of division leaders worthy of attention with the Detroit Lions (5-1) visiting the Baltimore Ravens (4-2).
The Lions have won four in a row since an overtime loss at Seattle in week two after opening with a triumph at reigning champion Kansas City.
The Ravens bounced back from a loss at Pittsburgh last week with a win at Tennessee.
The NFL’s two other 5-1 clubs face teams with losing records when the reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs entertain the Los Angeles Chargers (2-3) and the San Francisco 49ers visit Minnesota (2-4) on Monday.
Sunday’s other games include Las Vegas at Chicago, Washington at the New York Giants, Buffalo at New England, Cleveland at Indianapolis, Atlanta at Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh at the Los Angeles Rams, Arizona at Seattle and Green Bay at Denver.
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