Dave Hyde: On day Dolphins lose Phillips, it’s time to notice Tua Tagovailoa’s changed year

Here’s the stat of Black Friday: 2.17 seconds. That’s the average time Tua Tagovailoa took to throw the football. That’s microwaved football.

It took him longer to call the play in the huddle than run it. It was the second-fastest time by any NFL quarterback in a game this season — second only to Tagovailoa against New England in September.

See another way the Miami Dolphins kill teams with speed?

See, too, why coach Mike McDaniel flashes that big stopwatch on his wrist?

This is important, because the conversation no one had again in the Dolphins easy, 34-13 win against the New York Jets on Friday is the one everyone had all last season — the one other teams keep having about their quarterback.

It’s the one the Dolphins unfortunately are having right now about Jaelan Phillips. The defensive end pushed off against that infernal turf of the Meadowlands and his Achilles evidently went pop.

He was carted off a few minutes after Amazon gave an anatomy lesson on the Achilles injury involving New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers on this same field four plays into New York’s season.

“We’ve got to do something about that turf,” said Dolphins running back Raheem Mostert, a former Jet who scored two touchdowns Friday. “Something has to change.”

Of all the roads to the NFL’s February and the Super Bowl, of all the ways matchups will be analyzed, of all the chances teams will be given based on home fields and turnover margins, none are more simpler to explain than simply this: Who can stay healthy?

The AFC has no powerhouse. It’s four or five teams punching in the same weight class and trying to get to January healthy and with a home-field playoff advantage.

The Jets’ season was done when Rodgers went down as Tim Boyle showed again Friday. The Jets’ third-string quarterback led an offense that had two first downs through three quarters. Amazon spent $100 million to televise that?

Cincinnati is done because quarterback Joe Burrow is done for the season. Ditto Cleveland and quarterback Deshaun Watson.

We’re in about to enter December football, and no one around the Dolphins is talking about injuries about Tua like last season or ju-jitsu training like this offseason. It’s a football-centric dialogue about the quarterback now: Turnovers. He has to limit them.

He had two interceptions on Friday, including a pick-6 that put the Jets briefly in the game at down 10-6 in the second quarter.

“Just can’t do that,” said Tagovailoa, who completed 21-of-30 passes for 243 yards and a touchdown against the two interceptions. “I put our defense in some tough situations. But our defense came through.”

Throw in the two turnovers he had last Sunday and it’s something that needs to improve before the competition does in a few weeks.

“You’re going to need better ball from me. But the sky is the limit for us. It’s right there. We determine our fate. We have to continue stacking the wins.”

They’re 8-3. They’ve got a runway to the AFC East title and a home-field playoff advantage. Tagovailoa is central to that with 21 touchdowns against 10 interceptions, and the manner he and McDaniel have strategized his health into the season is something to notice.

The Jets can’t do much. Their offense, as mentioned, is a dumpster fire. But they do have ability to play some defense and hit the quarterback.

Throw in the offensive-line injury to left tackle Terron Armstead and the fourth-quarter ejection of Austin Jackson that question about Tua getting rid of the ball doubled-down as the game went on. (It also led to the question of why Tagovailoa was still in there in the fourth quarter with the game decided).

Through game planning and throwing the ball quickly, Tagovailoa was pressured on just 14.7 percent of his dropbacks, according to NextGenStats.com. That’s the second lowest rate he’s faced in a game this season.

He didn’t come out unscathed. His right arm had a gouge taken out of it early Friday.

“We tried to patch it up,” he said. “It’s what comes with the game. Everyone has nicks and bruises. I think it’s when I tried to run for the first down. I’m gonna have to get (the tattoo) retouched.”

The Dolphins won a game but lost Phillips. They can’t count on Armstead. All this matters because the AFC has no powerhouse team and the one that gets to January healthiest might be the favorite.

So you can go with two first downs for the Jets through three quarters or the $100 million paid by Amazon. The stat of the day was Tagovailoa getting rid of the ball in 2.17 seconds and moving on with everyone talking about his turnovers. The key is moving on.