Tua Tagovailoa’s value highlighted and other takeaways from Dolphins’ loss to Falcons
The preseason is known as a dress rehearsal for the games that count in the regular season. But Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel was clearly aware of the work that needs to be done between now and Sept. 10, when Miami faces the Los Angeles Chargers on the road.
So when he arrived at the lectern in the postgame interview room to address a mistake-filled 19-3 loss to the Atlanta Falcons on Friday night, he delivered this one-liner: “Did you guys enjoy that clinic?”
Four turnovers, eight penalties and a punt return touchdown allowed all doomed Miami in its preseason-opening loss to Atlanta. But several players were bright spots for the Dolphins as they move on to joint practices with the Houston Texans next week.
Here are three takeaways from Miami’s preseason loss.
Tua’s health will still be key
It’s no secret that the success of the Dolphins’ 2023 season largely hinges on quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s ability to stay healthy. That’s the reason he went to lengths in the offseason to put himself in a position to play all 17 regular-season games, whether it was adding about 10 pounds of muscle, doing jiu-jitsu weekly or switching his headgear to the NFL’s new quarterback-specific helmet designed to prevent concussions.
But as the two quarterbacks vying to back up Tagovailoa struggled to move the ball or take care of it for much of the night, the importance of Tagovailoa’s health was once again highlighted. Now, in defense of Mike White and Skylar Thompson, if they are pressed into action during the regular season, they will be throwing passes to wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, and receiving protection from left tackle Terron Armstead, not the litany of reserves who played most of the opener. But the wide gap in talent and execution of the offense was also apparent, whether it was an inability to sense pressure or throwing inaccurate, mistimed passes.
McDaniel said he wouldn’t overreact to one game and was complimentary of the strides that White and Thompson have made in training camp. But backup quarterback remains one of the Dolphins’ most important positions given Tagovailoa’s injury history. Friday night’s performance didn’t do much to assuage concerns about the offense if he is sidelined.
Running back depth shines in opener
With less than a month until Week 1, Dalvin Cook is still a free agent. So it remains to be seen whether he will be a member of the Dolphins. But as Miami continues with camp, the team has a valid reason to be content with the state of its running back room. With Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson Jr. sidelined, the Dolphins got quality contributions from the backfield.
De’Von Achane made his NFL debut, showcasing the track speed that so many are enamored with, as well as some physical between-the-tackles running. Myles Gaskin led the team in rushing and showed his elusiveness on his 35-yard run. And undrafted rookie Chris Brooks continued to give tough running while catching one pass and turning upfield for an 11-yard gain. Salvon Ahmed, arguably the leader for the fourth spot if Miami chooses to keep an extra back on the 53-man roster, had the lowest workload and quietest night of the four, but he’s also flashed in training camp.
“You only get three opportunities to get tackled with the ball in your hand, to the ground, and so these are vital,” McDaniel said. “I thought the guys that got opportunities tonight took advantage of them.”
Special teams gets off to a shaky start
Falcons cornerback Dee Alford weaving his way through tacklers en route to a 79-yard punt return score late in the game had to be a troubling sight for a special teams unit that not only struggled with returns but coverage in 2022.
However, asked about the play, McDaniel said that “hopefully our special teams won’t entirely be comprised of the people it was comprised of in the fourth quarter.”
He then added: “There’s guys that will be held responsible for that, but ultimately the biggest thing is learn from it and what I want to see from the special teams is really the whole crew knows the standard that that’s not acceptable, and all the players on special teams understand why and what happened in that punt return situation that gave up points that was critical to the outcome of the game.”
While McDaniel noted that players would be held accountable, it was interesting for him to initially dismiss the return touchdown as the byproduct of inexperienced, end-of-roster players — especially given the coverage issues last season and the decision to retain coordinator Danny Crossman.
McDaniel isn’t necessarily wrong; when the games count, it will be core special teams players and starters out on the field. But the Dolphins appeared to have similar issues with coverage lanes during joint practices and it seemingly carried over into the opener.
It’s only a game, but special teams is something to monitor, even as the progression of the offense and defense make daily headlines.
This story was originally published August 12, 2023 at 2:06 PM.
