MIAMI GARDENS — Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was nearly perfect Saturday in his preseason debut against Washington offense showed some of that toughness the team has been talking about throughout training camp.
It was a good start for Miami, which took a 10-6 halftime lead in its second preseason game of the year.
The Dolphins were aided by two missed first-half field goals by Washington, but things were still looking pretty good for Miami offensively to start the game while the defense might have some wrinkles to iron out.
Here’s what we observed.
Tua has nice debut
Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was sharp in his only possession against Washington, going 5 for 5 for 51 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions and a 148.8 passer rating. A perfect passer rating is 158.3.
On first down Tagovailoa rifled an accurate 13-yard pass to wide receiver River Cracraft.
Tagovailoa showed comfort in the pocket as the Dolphins used a balanced offensive attack to drive down the field for an 11-play, 61-yard touchdown drive.
Quarterback Skylar Thompson came in for Miami’s second possession.
Dolphins players not in uniform
Among those players who weren’t in uniform Saturday: WR Tyreek Hill, LT Terron Armstead, C Aaron Brewer, TE Jody Fortson Jr., TE Tanner Conner, RB Jeff Wilson Jr., RB Salvon Ahmed, RB Jaylen Wright, WR Jaylen Waddle, WR Anthony Schwartz, DT Benito Jones, Edge rusher Jaelan Phillips, LB Anthony Walker Jr., CB Ethan Bonner, S Jevon Holland and S Jordan Poyer.
CB Cam Smith comes in for nickel package
Cornerback Cam Smith, the 2023 second-round pick who is still looking to establish a role, entered the game for the nickel defense, playing right cornerback. Kader Kohou, who started at right cornerback opposite cornerback Kendall Fuller, moved to the slot.
Smith, who has had an understated training camp, was the closest defender on a 20-yard reception to Washington wide receiver Terry McLaurin when he missed a tackle after the short reception. Smith came back late in the second quarter with a nice pass breakup on a deep pass.
Dolphins make tough, aggressive offensive calls
The Dolphins’ first possession saw them run the ball on third and one, fourth and one, second and one, and third and two.
Those were aggressive, tough calls, the type of calls you’d like to see continue if the Dolphins, as they say, want to be tougher this season.
On the third and one, running back Raheem Mostert (five carries, seven yards) went up the middle and was denied.
On the fourth and one, coach Mike McDaniel called another run and this time Mostert got the first down by going up the middle again and this time he got the first down following the blocks of center Liam Eichenberg and left guard Robert Jones.
It was nice to see aggressive football from an offense regarded as a finesse unit.
Allen, Payne, Newton don’t play; Dolphins interior OL misses big test
The Dolphins’ interior offensive line didn’t get the test Saturday that many thought they’d get, or needed, because Commanders defensive tackles Jonathan Allen, Daron Payne and Jer’Zhan Newton, basically the main interior players, didn’t play.
Allen and Payne had pretty good success during Thursday’s joint practice working against a Miami interior offensive line that mainly consisted of Eichenberg, right guard Lester Cotton and Jones.
The Dolphins’ interior offensive line was OK on run plays in Thursday’s joint practice but struggled in pass protection.
Dolphins’ pass rush has room for growth
The Dolphins started edge rushers Emmanuel Ogbah and Quinton Bell, and while they weren’t bad, they also weren’t noticeable.
Edge rushers Chop Robinson, the first-round pick, Mohamed Kamara, the fifth-round pick, and Wyatt Ray, the newly-signed former St. Thomas Aquinas player, rotated in for pass rush duties later in the game.
River Cracraft goes locker room after TD
Wide receiver River Cracraft (two receptions, 29 yards) went to the locker room after his 13-yard touchdown reception. Cracraft, who had a 16-yard reception on the first play of the game, might have been the highest-ranking wide receiver to play considering Hill and Waddle didn’t play.
Wide receiver Braxton Berrios played along with wide receivers Malik Washington, Braylon Sanders, Willie Snead IV and Mike Harley.
There was no word on Cracraft’s ailment.
Linebacker David Long Jr. also left the game after going down following a tackle. Trainers came out to loom at Long but he walked off the field on his own.
QB Skylar Thompson gets first look again
Quarterback Skylar Thompson entered the game after Tagovailoa, meaning Thompson, who has probably had a better training camp than Mike White, last season’s No. 2 quarterback, got to play with the top backups for the second consecutive game.
Thompson started 7 of 14 for 64 yards, no touchdowns, no interceptions and a 62.8 passer rating.
Needham at backup slot, probably on 53-man roster
Defensive back Nik Needham got the nod at backup slot after Kohou left the game. Needham, who also plays special teams, will most likely make the 53-man roster
Nothing is guaranteed for Needham, and the secondary remains crowded among starters Ramsey, Fuller, Holland, Poyer and Kohou. The prime backups are likely safeties Elijah Campbell and Marcus Maye at safeties and Needham at nickel.
The backup cornerback jobs are still up for grabs after Smith.
Cornerback Siran Neal is almost certainly on the 53-man roster because of his special teams duties.
Those in contention for the other backup cornerback jobs include Storm Duck, Bonner, Isaiah Johnson and Jason Maitre.
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