Full coverage: Defense carries Dolphins to win over Rams in Tua Tagovailoa’s first start
The moment finally arrived. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa started his first career NFL game as the Miami Dolphins hosted the Los Angeles Rams at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday. Tagovailoa didn’t do much, completing 12 of 22 passes for 93 yards and a first-quarter touchdown, but his supporting cast held firm in the 28-17 win to improve to 4-3 on the year. The Rams fell to 5-3.
It was a moment Dolphins fans have been waiting for since Miami selected the 6-0, 217-pound left-hander out of the University of Alabama with the fifth overall pick in April’s NFL Draft. The Dolphins made the decision official during their bye last week that they would start the rookie this week over veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick, who had been under center for the first six games of the season.
The Miami Herald provided live updates throughout the game. Find a full recap of how the game unfolded below along with links to additional in-depth coverage.
More coverage
▪ From Adam H. Beasley: The Dolphins’ defense proves playoffs worthy, carries Tua to win in ragged first NFL start
With yet another TD, Dolphins’ Jakeem Grant has become one of NFL’s best returners
▪ From Armando Salguero: Tua Tagovailoa helps but victorious Dolphins turn elsewhere for star performance
Tua Tagovailoa struggles in NFL debut. That comes with unexpected good news
▪ From Greg Cote: Miami Dolphins defense dominates Rams, makes it easy for Tua in QB’s first NFL start
▪ From David Wilson: The Dolphins rebuilt their front 7 in free agency. It all came together to pummel Rams
Tua Tagovailoa’s disappointing 1st start for Miami started with failures in the run game
Game coverage
Run down the clock
Time was in the Dolphins’ favor, so the Dolphins had one priority on their final drive: Get the Rams to use their timeouts and move the chains enough to run out the clock.
Six plays, 18 yards, three Rams timeouts and the two-minute warning later, Miami all but secured its win, holding a two score lead when it gave the ball back to the Rams with just 1:08 left on the clock.
Pivotal stop
The Dolphins defense is bending, but it’s not breaking.
The Rams marched 62 yards down the field against a gassed Dolphins defense before Miami ultimately got a pivotal third-down stop.
But Kai Forbath’s 48-yard field-goal attempt that could have cut Miami’s lead to eight points sailed wide left. Miami still leads by 11 with 3:38 left to play.
Drop stalls potentially critical drive
The offense finally seemed to be humming early in a drive. Tua Tagovailoa completed three passes for 26 yards, including a pitch-and-catch to Isaiah Ford on third-and-1 to get a fresh set of downs. But on a third-and-2 from the Rams’ 48, Myles Gaskin dropped a pass beyond the first-down marker after being hit by safety Taylor Rapp.
Miami punts again. The defense, after getting just a couple minutes of rest, goes back to the field and will try to keep Miami’s 11-point lead intact with 6:30 left to play.
Rams inch closer
Well, we have a ballgame. The Rams took advantage of a gassed Dolphins defense to march down the field for an 89-yard touchdown drive. The 10-play drive ended with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Jared Goff to Robert Woods to cut Miami’s lead to 28-17 with 9:58 left to play.
The Dolphins’ defense has already played 77 snaps through the first 50 minutes of the game. Miami’s offense will need to put together a drive to give the defense a chance to breathe or else this game might get too close for comfort.
Little action in third quarter
There’s 15 minutes left to play, and the Dolphins are still up 28-10 on the Rams.
The Dolphins mustered 28 yards on their first three drives of the quarter and face a third-and-14 when they start the fourth quarter. The Rams tallied 61 yards on three drives, punting twice and turning the ball over on downs the third time.
Another drive, another punt
The Dolphins’ attempt to get creative got the best of them.
After Tua Tagovailoa completed consecutive passes to start Miami’s second drive of the second half, first to Myles Gaskin for 7 yards and then to fellow rookie Malcolm Perry for 10 yards, Miami went with consecutive Wildcat-style direct snaps to Perry. The first gained three yards when Perry handed the ball to Matt Breida. The second lost five when Perry kept the ball himself. An incompletion on third down brought out the punting unit again.
Tagovailoa has 60 passing yards and the first-quarter touchdown on 8-of-15 passing with 8:16 left in the third quarter. His longest completion is 15 yards. The Dolphins are still up 28-10.
Offense still looking for sustained success
The Dolphins, up 18, got the ball back to start the second half... and went three and out. Myles Gaskin run for no gain, Tua Tagovailoa pass to Gaskin for 9 yards, a direct snap to Gaskin (with Tagovailoa lined up at receiver) for no gain.
Punt.
Both of the offense’s touchdown drives came on short fields following turnovers. At some point, they’re going to need to show they can put together a sustained drive.
Halftime thoughts
The Miami Dolphins’ offense has barely been on the field. Tua Tagovailoa has been given minimal responsibilities and has only thrown 11 passes.
And yet, the Dolphins have a big lead on the Los Angeles Rams, 28-10, at halftime despite being out-gained 224-54 on offense and only having the ball for 9:12.
The defense has forced four turnovers, one of which was returned for a touchdown and two others giving the offense short fields to put up touchdowns of their own.
In simplest terms, the Dolphins have done everything possible to slow down one of the top teams in football through the first 30 minutes and make sure Tagovailoa didn’t have to put extra pressure on himself early in his first career start.
The goal now: Continue that effort in the second half and see if the offense can get rolling as well.
Miami opens the third quarter on offense.
Short field, quick touchdown
Another Rams turnover. That’s four today. Kyle Van Noy recoved a Jared Goff fumble and returned it to the LA 1-yard line.
Myles Gaskin ran his way into the end zone on the first play of the drive. It’s 28-7 Dolphins over the Rams with 2:47 left in the first half. Tua Tagovailoa hasn’t completed a pass since his touchdown to DeVante Parker at the end of the first quarter. He only has two pass attempts in the second quarter. He might not need to do much the rest of the way, either, if the defense keeps playing the way it has in the first half.
Drops stymie another offensive drive
The defense has stepped up, forcing three turnovers in the first half alone against the Rams.
The offense couldn’t execute on the latest of those turnovers. After Eric Rowe picked off a Jared Goff pass, the Dolphins went three-and-out. Preston Williams dropped both passes that went his way on the drive.
Special teams making plays, too
The Miami Dolphins are making sure early that Tua Tagovailoa doesn’t have to put the entire game on his left arm.
The latest help to the offense: Jakeem Grant’s 88-yard punt return for a touchdown, the longest in franchise history.
It pushed Miami’s lead over the Rams to 21-7 with 8:44 left in the first half.
The Dolphins have now scored a touchdown on offense, defense and special teams. The last time they did that: Nov. 1, 2009, exactly 11 years ago, at the New York Jets.
Defense picks up offense
Well, Tua Tagovailoa’s first drive of the second quarter was short lived.
Myles Gaskin fumbled on the first play of the drive, giving the Rams the ball inside Miami’s 10-yard line.
The Dolphins defense picked up the offense, however, with Andrew Van Ginkel recovering a Jared Goff fumble and returning it 78 yards for a touchdown. Emmanuel Ogbah forced the fumble. Miami leads 14-7.
Tua’s first touchdown drive
Christian Wilkins’ first career interception set the stage for Tua Tagovailoa’s first career touchdown.
Six plays, 33 yards, capped by a 3-yard touchdown pass to DeVante Parker to tie the game 7-7 at the end of the first quarter.
The drive started with a quick, short completion to tight end Durham Smythe for 8 yards. The Dolphins got a fresh set of downs on Myles Gaskins’ 3-yard run on second down.
Tagovailoa then moved Miami to the 7-yard line with a 15-yard catch to his right to Jakeem Grant to set up the touchdown pass up the middle to Parker three plays later.
At the end of the first quarter, Tagovailoa has completed 5 of 9 passing attempts for 34 yards and a touchdown. His QB rating is 101.2.
This was the most comfortable Tagovailoa looked so far Sunday. The Dolphins surely hope it’s something he can build upon as the game continues.
Three-and-out
Three offensive drives. Zero Miami Dolphins points.
Miami went three-and-out on its latest drive, which started at the Dolphins’ 10. Myles Gaskin ran for three yards on first down, Tagovailoa scrambled to his left on second and 7 for two yards, and then a deep pass down the left sideline intended for tight end Mike Gesicki that was almost completed and then almost intercepted landed incomplete. Another punt.
Not taking advantage of good field position
Thanks to a long Jakeem Grant kickoff return, Tagovailoa and the Dolphins started their second drive at their 49-yard line.
Miami failed to take advantage, with Tagovailoa completing 2 of 4 passes for 8 yards and Miami ultimately punting.
Tagovailoa’s first completion went 8 yards on a slant to Preston Williams on a play-action for a first down. A deep ball to Williams on the next play was incomplete. A pass to Myles Gaskin on second down went for no gain, and a screen attempt to DeVante Parker on 3rd and 11 fell incomplete.
Miami pins the Rams to their 7-yard line.
Tua’s first drive
The Dolphins defense forced a Rams punt to open the game ... and get Tua Tagovailoa to the field for the first time as Miami’s starting quarterback. He received a standing ovation from the limited crowd at Hard Rock Stadium as he took the field.
The opening drive, however, ended in disappointment.
After Myles Gaskin gained 3 yards on first down, Tagovailoa was strip-sacked by Aaron Donald. The Rams recovered the ball, started their second drive in the red zone and scored three played later on a Robert Woods rushing touchdown to give the Rams an early 7-0 lead.
Pre-game Tua Tagovailoa chatter
Not surprisingly, the Dolphins and Tagovailoa got a lot of talking time on the national NFL pregame shows. A sampling of what was said:
▪ ESPN’s Rex Ryan: “I’m most excited to see Tua Tagovailoa making his first start. When he came out of college at Alabama, we all saw it. The All-America quarterback. I said it was the biggest gamble of the NFL Draft and that was based on one thing: The injuries. It had nothing to do with his skill level. I’ve seen a ton of college players in my life. I’ve never, ever seen anybody as accurate as Tua. So to me, this is what, I said it even last week, this moe is great for Miami. Go with him as the starter. And the reason I said it is he’s accurate on long balls, mid-range and short passes. He’s got touch. I think he’s going to be a star. We’re going to find out today.”
▪ ESPN’s Chris Mortensen: “This is the most anticipated debut for Miami since 1983 when Dan Marino took over for the Dolphins. We know how that worked out. Remember [two weeks ago], he got on the field for a couple of plays. He had to FaceTime his parents from the field because they couldn’t be there. Well, guess what? He’ll have family there today, He won’t have to FaceTime with them after the game.”
▪ NFL Network’s Steve Wyche, reporting live from Hard Rock Stadium: “We saw Rams quarterback Jared Goff walk towards the Dolphins bench, and he had about a minute or two long conversatoin with Tua and Ryan Fitzpatrick, the quarterback [Tagovailoa] is replacing. So if there’s any beef between them, it is now long gone. There’s still that father-son relationship. Again, I’m seeing that that about 100 feet to my right.”
Wyche also noted the Rams watched a lot of Alabama games to get a feel for Tagovailoa’s play style in addition to the Dolphins’ six games this season.
▪ NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah: “I’m really looking forward to seeing what Tua Tagovailoa is going to do in his first start, and if you’re wondering what he’s going to look like as a player, I go back to what I saw at the University of Alabama, and the operative work is quick. You’re going to see somebody with very quick feet in his setup. You’re going to see somebody that’s going to quickly work through progressions, somebody with a quick release. Everything about him is quick. I think you’re going to see this offense operate at a brisk pace. I think they’ll get up on the line of scrimmage, see if they can’t get him into a quick rhythm early on in this game and the last thing you need to know about Tua Tagovailoa in his first game are three letters: RPO. Get used to it. You’re going to see a whole lot of it from Tua today.”
▪ NFL Network’s Kurt Warner: “For me, it’s not so much about the plays that he’s going to make. We’ve seen that numerous times at Alabama. He’s got a lot of success playing football, throwing the football. To me, it’s how he responds to the negative plays because that’s going to happen. This isn’t going to be perfect. This isn’t going to be Alabama where you go in and you’ve got the best players week in and week out. He’s got a challenge today because Aaron Donald and company, that back end of the Los Angeles Rams are going to be some bad boys. There will be some negative plays, throw an interception, [punter] Johnny Hekker pins you on the 1 yard line and you’ve got to come out of your own end zone. How are you going to respond to those thingsis really what being a quarterback in the National Football League is all about. How you handle that early will go a long way in generating that hope for us seeing who this kid is going to be.”
▪ Fox’s Michael Vick: “I think this decision was validated by the great play of Justin Herbert and Joe Burrow, both good as advertised. ... He’s got an amazing deep ball. He can throw the football. He can run it. He can run RPOs. I’m a big fan of rookies learning on the job. And after watching Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco make the playoffs in their rookie years, I think the sky’s the limit for a rookie quarterback, so I hold him to a higher standard. It’s a high standard, but I think guys like Tua will be able to pull it off and be stars of the NFL.”
▪ Fox’s Colin Cowherd: “It’s a good week, actually, for Tua. The Rams are on a short week. They played Monday Night Football, traveled cross country for an early start. That’s a tough spot for the Rams. Whereas Tua gets two weeks with the first team in practice. They’re off a bye, Miami is. Here’s the thing: There’s a lot of questions. Why are you playing him when you’re on a winning streak? They’re playing Tua because they have to see if he can play. To Mike Vick’s point, Herbert and Burrow have been so good. They have Houston’s No. 1 pick, Miami does. They’re going to give him eight weeks. He doesn’t have to win today, but if he doesn’t show some magic, some pop, they’re going to go get another quarterback. We saw Arizona do that. Arizona did it, and it’s paying dividends. He’s got to show something in the first seven, eight starts.”
Our Tua Tagovailoa coverage leading up to the game
While we wait for the game to begin, catch up on our coverage:
▪ What awaits Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa? We asked Burrow and Cam and Lamar and Stafford
▪ Dolphins not worried about Tua Tagovailoa. They’re worried about guy chasing Tagovailoa
▪ Tua Tagovailoa career path offers three possibilities. Only one will work for Dolphins
▪ As hype for Tua Time builds nationally, let’s check in on Miami’s rookie quarterback
▪ A locker room mutiny if switch to Tagovailoa fails? Why Dolphins aren’t concerned
▪ How will Tua Tagovailoa fare in his debut? ‘I think he’ll play great,’ Gailey says
▪ The unexpected drama, controversy and pressure as Tua takes over as Miami Dolphins QB
▪ ‘It’s going to be incredible.’ Dolphins players excited, curious about Tua’s debut
▪ Tua talks: Everything the Dolphins’ rookie quarterback said after being named starter
This story was originally published November 1, 2020 at 11:30 AM.
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