MIAMI GARDENS — Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, for the first time in his career, is in the midst of a run where he has failed to throw for at least 200 yards in four consecutive games.

To take it a step further, Tagovailoa hasn’t even reached 175 in any of those contests.

Previously, that would be a recipe for disaster for the Dolphins in the Tagovailoa era. But these Dolphins (6-7) have won four consecutive games during that stretch, led offensively by the ground game.

Tagovailoa, always team-first, is just fine with less from him meaning more for the team.

“I’m happy,” Tagovailoa said. “As long as we’re getting wins, that’s all that matters in this league. Now, would I like to throw the ball more? Sure. But if running the ball is what’s helping us win games right now, I don’t see why we stop doing it.”

During the winning streak, Tagovailoa’s passing attempts have been between 20 and 23. The Dolphins have mostly played with a lead in those games, which allows the run game, led by running back De’Von Achane (rib injury), to be the driving force.

Tagovailoa’s passing struggles in 2025, while staying healthy to start all 13 games entering Monday night’s tilt with the Pittsburgh Steelers (7-6), have been well documented, though.

He has 14 interceptions, although he didn’t throw one last Sunday against the New York Jets. That is still tied for the league lead. He has completed 66.9 percent of passes for 2,407 yards and 18 touchdowns.

“I think there’s a lot of things that go into that, with how I’m seeing it, with how I’m going through the game with my progressions, if I’m ahead of the play, if I’m not,” Tagovailoa said. “I think a lot of that has played a big part in being the reason as to why it’s not as good as it could be or where it has been in years past.”

Tagovailoa said there have been some nuances in the offense that have changed recently, but he said neither that nor his playmakers around him should be deemed a reason for the dropoff in his passing totals.

The Dolphins passing game has been without star wide receiver Tyreek Hill since he went down with his gruesome knee injury at the end of September. Miami also didn’t have big, pass-catching tight end Darren Waller for seven games this season.

Tagovailoa has previously pointed to his footwork and said Thursday he has been spending more time with offensive teammates working on that aspect of his game.

Against the Steelers on Monday, he will face former Dolphins cornerback Jalen Ramsey, who has been playing safety in Pittsburgh after the blockbuster offseason trade between the clubs.

“We all know Jalen’s a very aggressive player,” Tagovailoa said. “That’s sort of Jalen’s mindset, as well. But not just playing against Ramsey. We’re playing against the entire defense, but he adds a big piece to that defense, for sure.”

Could Tagovailoa use any tendencies he picked up from the two seasons seeing him in practice all the time on the other side?

“Well, I think it’s hard from when you’re trying to look at tendencies from when he was here,” Tagovailoa said, “because schematically, we didn’t have him at safety, really. We’d move him around to nickel and then he’d be at corner. He plays safety the way he plays corner. He’s just aggressive.”

While Tagovailoa is on the sideline Monday, the Steelers will have Aaron Rodgers at quarterback, who is still going at 42 years old after having two strong performances against Miami with the Jets last season.

Tagovailoa marvels at Rodgers and a 44-year-old Philip Rivers making a comeback this week with the Indianapolis Colts.

“Dude, now we got Philip Rivers back,” Tagovailoa said. “That’s dope. These are guys that I used to freaking watch when I was young-young. Now that Philip gets a chance to come back, that’s super cool, and A-Rod, I mean, everyone knows he can still throw it; he can still sling it, whether he’s on the opposite 40 throwing to the left-side pylon, he’s still got it. I got a lot of respect for him.”

Much has always been made of Tagovailoa in cold-weather games. He is 0-5 in games with kickoff temperatures of 40 degrees or lower. At MetLife Stadium on Sunday, it was 41 degrees at kickoff while most of the game was played in the high 30s.

The projected temperatures Monday night in Pittsburgh will be in the teens.

“It’s football, bro,” Tagovailoa said. “It is what it is. We got to play them in Pittsburgh, whether it’s negative-20, whether it’s 20 degrees. We got to play football.”