MIAMI GARDENS — There’s a lot of talk about democracy these days.

One place where there’s no room for it is Miami Gardens.

Tua Tagovailoa called it “a mutual thing” for he and Mike McDaniel to determine how much playing time he needs in preseason.

The correct answer is five passes.

Tagovailoa happened to throw five Saturday night, and it’s all he should throw in a game again until Sept. 8, when it actually counts. Maybe he’ll campaign for a series or two in Tampa next week. He can go on a filibuster if he likes. McDaniel owes it to the team not to listen.

Tagovailoa was that sharp in completing all five passes for 51 yards on an 11-play, 61-yard touchdown drive to open the Miami Dolphins’ 13-6 win against the Washington Commanders.

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He was regular-season sharp, hitting on a variety of throws, none prettier than the timing rainbow to River Cracraft for a 13-yard touchdown. Bonus: It was the second fourth-and-1 conversion on the drive. A gutsy call and a gutsy throw.

“He looked good. He certainly did,” Dolphins owner Stephen Ross said.

Ross made those comments during a visit to the WFOR-Channel 4 broadcast booth in the first half, the first time Dolphins fans have heard from their owner in ages.

It’s Ross who had to sign off on the $212.4 million contract the Dolphins just handed Tagovailoa, banking on him to take them where they haven’t gone since the 1984  season.

Oh yes, Ross wasn’t shy about saying that on-air.

“We stay healthy, I think we’re certainly a contender for the Super Bowl,” Ross said.

Grand statements like that surely explain why we don’t hear from Ross more often. But if he’s not confident in August, then who is? And when?

"I think that means he believes in the program," McDaniel said.

McDaniel believes in Tagovailoa and has since Day 1. McDaniel admitted he wanted to call a run on the second fourth-down gamble but didn't because he suspected it would be Tagovailoa's finale.

"And so I wanted to give him the opportunity to make the play," McDaniel said.

Tagovailoa took the opportunity and ran with it. Well, passed with it. Still, he said it's tough to say he is or isn't regular-season sharp.

"You never know until you get out there and you actually play the first real snap against their best and you have your best," he said. " ... We'll go to Tampa. We'll assess what happens then and we'll see if we need any more (playing time) or not."

Tagovailoa’s performance had everything you wanted out of one of these preseason exercises. Especially since the men on the other end of his passes went by names such as Hill — but it was Julian, not Tyreek. Jaylen Waddle and Odell Beckham Jr. also sat out this one, which only means that of Tagovailoa’s top three targets for 2024, zero were catching balls. It didn’t matter.

What did matter — and another reason Tagovailoa should kick his feet up in Tampa — is the ongoing question of who’s going to back him up. The leader right now should be Skylar Thompson, who has outplayed Mike White.

The problem is that at this point, neither backup inspires much confidence should he be called upon, which is why you’re hearing mentions that Ryan Tannehill is available. Hey, anybody seen Matt Moore lately?

Tua Tagovailoa hits on a variety of throws in scoring drive

Getting back to Uno, as teammates sometimes call Tagovailoa, his second and third throws were gimmes, a 5-yard toss to tight end Jonnu Smith followed by an inside flip to Smith that went down as a pass only because he went forward. Cheapies, but he’ll take it.

The last two throws were another story.

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With a man in his face, Tagovailoa side-armed one to Hill to make something (8 yards) out of nothing. If Tagovailoa’s first pass to Cracraft was Marino-lite for the quick release, this one was Mahomes-lite for improvisation. If this is what to expect of a more nimble Tua in 2024, we’ll take it.

Finally, the touchdown throw. The fourth-down gambles were required by the only two negatives on the drive. On consecutive third-and-1 plays, Raheem Mostert was stuffed for no gain. Although Cracraft was shadowed by cornerback James Pierre as he dashed toward the corner of the end zone, he has gained the confidence of teammates to, in Cracraft’s words, “make plays.” With no room to spare, Cracraft made this play, allowing Tagovailoa to take the rest of the night off.

And, one must hope, the rest of August.

Dolphins reporter Hal Habib can be reached at  hhabib@pbpost.com. Follow him on social media @gunnerhal. Click here to subscribe.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Stephen Ross says Dolphins Super Bowl contender as Tua Tagovailoa perfect