The Miami Dolphins leaned on its defense for a big win over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, and even though it was Tua Tagovailoa’s first start in his NFL career, his performance was viewed by some as a mixed bag.

Former NFL GM Michael Lombardi said he could understand why Miami went with Tagovailoa.

“I think it makes a lot of sense, Paul, because how good do you think Tua is,” Lombardi said on VSiN Live. “They’re trying to make him be the second coming of any quarterback. He throws a 5-yard completion and Scott Hanson on the Red Zone was going absolutely berserk like he just saw the Red Sea parted. Seriously, the guy threw a high school play, and he completed it.”

Lombardi so far is more impressed with other rookie quarterbacks like Joe Burrow with the Cincinnati Bengals and Justin Herbert with the Los Angeles Chargers.

“You want to see unique talent, and the way Justin Herbert plays, even in a loss, that’s unique talent,” Lombardi said. “The way Joe Burrow has played in games, as rookies, that’s unique talent.”

Tagovailoa was 12-for-22 passing for 93 yards with a touchdown and a sack. The sack caused a turnover early in the game.

“You’ve got to ask yourself the question as you sit there as a Miami Dolphin executive, and as a Miami Dolphins coach, is Tua better than Justin Fields,” Lombardi said. “Because you’re going to end up with a top five pick. Is Tua better than the North Dakota State quarterback. You’ve got to ask yourself those questions and generate honest answers, or else your franchise is going to be stuck in time.”

“Is he good enough to win a Super Bowl, I think that’s the answer they need to get answered with Tua,” Lombardi said.