The Miami Dolphins, up until last year, were an NFL rarity — a team boasting a left-handed starting quarterback. It has, of course, been that way for six seasons under the direction of Tua Tagovailoa. For a time, he was the league’s lone southpaw until Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. was inserted into the starting lineup last winter.
With the Dolphins and Falcons scheduled to face one another later this season, it marks an opportunity for the Dolphins and Falcons to do something the league hasn’t seen in nearly two decades — play a game in which both starting quarterbacks are lefties.
And now, thanks to another move elsewhere across the league, the Dolphins will have a chance to do it in back-to-back weeks.
Dolphins’ schedule lining up to bring consecutive matchups between left-handed quarterbacks amid QB chance in Cleveland
Dec 22, 2024; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (1) reacts front field after theme against the San Francisco 49ers at Hard Rock Stadium.Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
The Cleveland Browns, who play the Dolphins in Week 7, one week ahead of Miami’s matchup with Atlanta, are making a quarterback change. Rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel will assume the starting job for veteran Joe Flacco as the Browns look to spark their offense. And Gabriel, it just so happens, is left-handed. He makes three starting quarterbacks in the NFL who throw left-handed.
And Miami’s will face them in back-to-back weeks.
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NFL Career Passing Yards Leaders For Left-Handed Quarterbacks
Boomer Esiason – 37,920 career passing yards
Steve Young – 33,124 career passing yards
Mark Brunell – 32,072 career passing yards
Ken Stabler – 27,938 career passing yards
Michael Vick – 22,464 career passing yards
The last time the NFL saw two left-handed quarterbacks go head-to-head was Sept. 17, 2006. In Week 3 of the 2006 NFL season, Michael Vick’s Atlanta Falcons defeated Chris Simms’ Tampa Bay Buccaneers by a score of 14-3. Vick went 10-15 passing for 92 yards but ran 14 times for 127 yards and a score.
The Buccaneers were a part of the next most recent left-handed matchup as well, with Simms leading Jon Gruden’s Buccaneers against Joe Gibbs, Mark Brunell, and company in a matchup between Washington and Tampa Bay in the Wild Card Round of the 2005 playoffs. Washington prevailed 17-10.
And so Miami will have a chance to provide the NFL with its first two contests featuring two left-handed quarterbacks in 19 years by the end of October, thanks to Cleveland’s pivot to Gabriel. The question for Miami will be this: What kind of team are you, and what are you playing for?
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This story was originally reported by A to Z Sports on Oct 1, 2025, where it first appeared in the NFL section. Add A to Z Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.