Week 13 Bama Pro of the Week: Tua Tagovailoa

Each week during the NFL regular season, I'll award one standout Alabama player of the week whose performance boosted his team to victory. The only criteria being his team must win. At the end of the season, I'll name the MVP and hand out a few other awards to recognize the excellence the Alabama Crimson Tide has present in the NFL.

With a league-best 55 (counting Jalen Hurts) active players under contract across 28 franchises, there are plenty of options to choose from. Here's this week's winner:

Tua Tagovailoa led his Miami Dolphins to a fifth-straight victory, throwing for 244 yards and two touchdowns on 73% completion percentage in a 20-9 win over the New York Giants, earning his first Bama Pro of the Week award of the season.

Much is made by Miami's use of the short passing game, but when Tagovailoa executes that portion of the game so well, it's hard to go away from it, especially with the talent surrounding him.

Tagovailoa's first touchdown may have been the most impressive completion of the game as Mike Gesicki tracked in a pass only he could haul in to close out the first half with a lead.

Miami held the lead for the third quarter, though a Giants field goal tighten the gap. Tagovailoa was able to give his team some breathing room early in the fourth quarter by finding Isaiah Ford for a touchdown in a play designed originally for Waddle.

Tagovailoa has come on strong to revive the Dolphins from a 2-7 start back to within a game of .500 and shot at the NFL Playoffs. His four-game streak of games with a 100+ passer rating is nothing to scoff at.

The Dolphins will meet Quinnen Williams and the New York Jets for the second time this season next week in Miami at 1 p.m. EST.

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And now for our honorable mentions:

• Jaylen Waddle, Dolphins: Nine receptions for 90 yards.
• Najee Harris, Steelers: 21 carries for 71 yards and five receptions for 36 yards.
• Minkah Fitzpatrick, Steelers: Nine tackles and an interception.
• Patrick Surtain, Broncos: One tackle and an interception.
• Damien Harris, Patriots: 10 carries for 111 yards and a touchdown.

Be sure to tune back into tide1009.com each Tuesday to see the Bama Pro of the Week throughout the NFL season. Here's each winner from the 2021 season so far:

Week 1 Bama Pro of the Week: Jalen Hurts

Week 2 Bama Pro of the Week: Derrick Henry

Week 3 Bama Pro of the Week: Trevon Diggs

Week 4 Bama Pro of the Week: CJ Mosley

Week 5 Bama Pro of the Week: Najee Harris

Week 6 Bama Pro of the Week: Derrick Henry

Week 7 Bama Pro of the Week: Mac Jones

Week 8 Bama Pro of the Week: Patrick Surtain II

Week 9 Bama Pro of the Week: Xavier McKinney

Week 10 Bama Pro of the Week: Mac Jones

Week 11 Bama Pro of the Week: Jalen Hurts

Week 12 Bama Pro of the Week: Jaylen Waddle