MIAMI GARDENS — About the only thing Tua Tagovailoa didn’t have to hear the last few weeks was the possibility of being traded.

That, though, had little to do with Tua’s value to the Miami Dolphins — which many now are questioning — and more to do with a burdensome contract, which has him among the highest paid players in the NFL making in excess of $50 million a year.

So that wasn’t an issue.

The outside noise surrounding the embattled quarterback now is about should he be benched. Should the Dolphins, mired in another season that will see them watching the NFL playoffs from afar, stick with their sixth-year quarterback who continues to regress?

Is it time to see if veteran Zach Wilson or rookie Quinn Ewers could be a bridge quarterback while considering a future that does not include Tua Tagovailoa?

The answer following a stunning 30-13 Week 10 victory over the Buffalo Bills at Hard Rock Stadium is … not now.

And perhaps not in the near future with a schedule that becomes very forgiving — Washington, New Orleans, New York Jets — in the next month.

Tua does enough to manage Miami Dolphins upset of Buffalo Bills

Tua’s numbers against the Bills were not eye-popping. He totaled 173 yards by completing 15-of-21 passes. He threw as many interceptions (2) as touchdowns, but more on that later.

And his 88.1 passer rating was just his fifth highest in a year in which the Dolphins are now just 3-7.

But this is what he has become. A game-manager whose skills are limited. The days of being one of the most accurate passers in the league and leading the league in passer rating (2022) or passing yards (2023) or passing completion (2024) are long gone.

In fact, it has turned so much that Tua now leads the NFL with 13 interceptions.

“It helps I don’t have social media, none of that,” Tua said when asked about noise that has been gaining in decibels.

He’s unaware of the ruthless scrutiny “unless one of my teammates has something to say and they’re like, ‘hey, you didn’t see this’ “?

One game likely does not change anything. Tua’s future remains uncertain. In fact, the Dolphins are in flux as much as any franchise in the NFL with a coach, Mike McDaniel, and quarterback not sure if they will be jettisoned at the end of the season and an interim general manager, Champ Kelly, put in place by owner Stephen Ross after Chris Grier was fired.

Even more surprising against Buffalo is how Tua responded after a dreadful first series that saw the Dolphins penalized for a false start and McDaniel call a time out to discuss said penalty, before the first play of the game.

That series ended in three plays with Tua tossing the first of his two interceptions.

Mike McDaniel: Tua Tagovailoa’s ‘mental toughness’ allows him to flourish

McDaniel credited a mindset he believes makes Tua a solid leader.

“That’s one of his calling cards that makes him uniquely prepared for the position that he is as a franchise quarterback,” McDaniel said. “I don’t think people really give its due on how difficult it is when you have all the layers of scrutiny.

“I do think that is what you sign up for. So it’s more like I know the mental toughness of him because of his ability to flourish in those types of situations.”

McDaniel’s continued with his praise for a player some of the national analysts believe should be benched and even sent packing, whether it’s a trade — very difficult considering the contract — or cutting their losses.

The coach added Tua was “the captain and the leader of this game. He showed the way.” McDaniel cited those two interceptions, both coming on third downs in which he asked Tua to take deep shots knowing the worst that could happen is a result (interception) akin to a punt.

“I asked him to be aggressive on a couple plays and not worry about the result of the deep play and give our guys a shot down the field,” McDaniel said. “To me, that’s how you win football games, when you have people that put aside stat sheets.

“No one wants to throw a pick. But to be aggressive and to challenge the defense … if you’re going to take risks, you can’t be afraid of the end result.”

De’Von Achane, the real star of this offensive performance with 179 rushing yards and two touchdowns, praised Tua’s mindset during a difficult week saying he pays no attention to anything said outside the building.

“We get a lot of noise but I see him every day come in here like he’s supposed to,” Achane said.

Tua credits that to learning how not to “overly” focus on his job. He said he tends to make things worse when “I overly try to do something.”

That comes in handy when it would be easy to obsess on the criticism, and then press to try to prove the critics wrong.

“With me watching film, with me doing my own walk-throughs after watching films, I don’t think doing more or trying to overly cook that is going to better myself,” he said. “I just go do what I need to do, understand reasons as to why we’re doing it. Play calm, togetherness, football.”

Something we have not seen much from the Dolphins but for some reason showed up just in time for this organization’s biggest nemesis.

But will it be enough to silence the noise? Will it mean anything when the season ends and, barring some miraculous run, the Dolphins once again are on the outside looking in?

Does it mean Tua Tagovailoa will still be thought of as the franchise quarterback?

Those answers remain as murky as the bottom of a South Florida canal.

Tom D’Angelo is a senior sports columnist and reporter for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at tdangelo@pbpost.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Tua Tagovailoa leads Miami Dolphins to upset victory over Buffalo Bills