Dolphins rookie QB Quinn Ewers tosses two TDs to beat Lions 24-17 in preseason
Quinn Ewers didn’t have the best preseason opener.
Not only did the Miami Dolphins rookie quarterback complete roughly 28-percent of his passes vs. the Chicago Bears, he fumbled deep in Miami territory. To make matters worse, he barely received any snaps during the subsequent joint practices against the Detroit Lions. The bottom line: he had every reason to squander his second half opportunity against the Lions.
The former Texas standout did not, instead finding his favorite receiver Theo Wease Jr. for two scores enroute to 116 yards on 65-percent completion to lead the Dolphins to a 24-17 win over the the Lions.
“I think we did a really good job of learning from last week, throughout this week, and I think we did a really good job out there today,” Ewers said Saturday, adding that his first touchdown was “fun to see our work come to fruition.”
After a lopsided first joint practice against the Lions, the Dolphins appeared determined to put on a better showing.
“Obviously they’re a really good team,” cornerback Storm Duck said. “They play hard ball. Today we wanted to show them that we can come out and do the same.”
With most of the starters getting the day off, Saturday’s exhibition game allowed some of the backups to, as coach Mike McDaniel said Thursday, “make a new name for themselves.” Wease led all receivers with six catches for 81 yards receiving. Wideout Dee Eskridge finished with three catches for 53 yards receiving and a while tight end Tanner Conner added another 48 yards on six grabs.
Even quarterback Zach Wilson looked solid through the first two quarters, completing about 65% of his passes for 151 yards and a touchdown. But he too misfired on a few deep shots that would’ve added to the Dolphins lead. Defensively, linebackers Willie Gay Jr. and Grayson Murphy continued to make plays in the backfield. Defensive tackle Jordan Phillips looked the most dominant, powering through offensive linemen enroute to 1.5 sacks.
“Physical domination,” Phillips said of his mindset when he tosses an opposing o-lineman. “Whatever it is — if I got to grind out a double team for my backers — I’m a do it. My mentality when I put my hand down is physical, violent intent.”
The lack of quality second and third-string offensive linemen also further revealed itself. Although the unit gave up no sacks, a plus considering they let up six against the Bears, it was initially difficult for them to get any push in the run game.
Not even the presence of Jonah Savaiinaea, the only projected starter that got some run, could make up for the poor play first half play on the ground. At halftime, the Dolphins had just five rushing yards, a testament primarily to the lack of push that the offensive line had gotten all game. Something, however, clicked in the second half, as big runs from tailbacks Ollie Gordon II and Aaron Shampklin put the team at 97 yards on the ground.
“I trust our front five more than anybody,” said Gordon who led all rushers with 10 carries for 50 yards on the ground. He also caught two passes for nine yards. “When they put that hat on a hat, we’re always going to be good.”
The game began with neither offenses unable to get anything going due to penalties. Both teams seemingly couldn’t get out of their own way: not a single drive in the first quarter was penalty-free. The game itself featured 22 penalties, 13 of which were on the Lions.
It wasn’t until the Dolphins’ third drive that the offense began to click. Wilson’s passes to Conner, Eskridge and receiver Tahj Washington helped power the unit down the field. The highlight occurred when Eskridge took a screen nearly 30 yards on third-and-long in Detroit territory that set up the fifth-year receiver for the touchdown two plays later.
“They put the ball in my hands on a critical down so I was just thinking I got to get the first,” Eskridge said of his big play that led to the touchdown.
Two drives later, the Lions responded. Although the Dolphins bottled up the run, key catches from receivers Isaac TeSlaa and Jackson Meeks, the latter of whom hauled in the 11-yard touchdown, allowed the Lions to tie up the game.
The Dolphins had another chance to build a lead before halftime. Two penalties on Detroit – one defensive offside and another face mask – gave Miami a free 20-yards. A 14-yard catch-and-run courtesy of Gordon put the Dolphins in the red zone with less than four minutes left. The Dolphins’ following three plays netted a loss of two after guard Kion Smith gave up a sack on fourth down with under two minutes left.
Detroit didn’t waste any time: less than 90 seconds later, Lions quarterback Kyle Allen had found TeSlaa for an 18-yard touchdown score that saw the rookie receiver go up and over Dolphins corner Cornell Armstrong.
The second half began with Quinn Ewers behind center. Although his first drive ended in a three-and-out, a good return from AJ Henning got the Dolphins’ second drive of the half started at the Detroit 36. Gordon then burst through the line of scrimmage for 19 yards, the biggest run of the day.
Three plays later, Ewers found his favorite target in receiver Theo Wease Jr. for a 15-yard touchdown, the first score for both rookies.
With Lions third-string quarterback Hendon Hooker as the signal caller, the Dolphins defense forced another three-and-out – just for Henning to muff a punt deep in Miami territory. The Lions would then kick a field goal to extend the lead to 17-14.
The Ewers to Wease connection reignited on the subsequent drive, first with a 23-yard completion to put the Dolphins in scoring position. A tough Gordon run placed the Dolphins within the 10 yard line. Two plays later, Wease scored on an 8-yard catch to give Miami the 21-17 lead. “It felt good,” Wease said. “We’re just building on all the hard work we put in in practice.”
Miami once again clamped up the Lions’ offense, leading to a 21-yard Jason Sanders field goal on the subsequent drive that pushed the Dolphins’ lead to 24-17. The Dolphins’ two drives in the fourth quarter ate up nearly 12 minutes of game time.
“It was a good day,” coach Mike McDaniel said. “There’s a lot of stuff that we can learn from, but it was cool to give him a couple opportunities that he made the most of and particularly the orchestrating a 17-play drive at the end was good.”
Although the Lions had a chance to tie the game on the final drive, an interception courtesy of Dolphins cornerback Ethan Robinson sealed it.
Ewers’ bounce back somewhat shows the resiliency of this Dolphins team. Although the first day of joint practices was a bit lopsided, players took it personally and responded in kind not just on Thursday but also Saturday with the victory.
This story was originally published August 16, 2025 at 4:28 PM.
