Despite the lopsided loss, Dolphins QB Quinn Ewers showed poise and fight
You have to take the good with the bad when it comes to rookie quarterbacks.
That much was the case with the Miami Dolphins and Quinn Ewers Sunday afternoon when the rookie signal caller led the team to a 45-21 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.
“I think we came out and played well in the first half,” Ewers said, adding that the offense “got into a good flow” prior to halftime. He described his demeanor as “calm and ready,” something that certainly showed at first. “I had a great grasp of the game plan and I felt like I had the confidence of the guys around me. I was just fired up to get back out there on the field.”
In his first start, Ewers finished with 260 yards through the air to go along with two interceptions. He also completed 67% of his passes, took zero sacks and added another six yards on the ground.
“Things are going to be moving fast, you’re going to have plays that you like, plays that you don’t like, but I liked his demeanor,” said tight end Darren Waller who caught three balls for 40 yards. “I liked the way that he was keeping people involved in playing the game because you see people leaving and stuff like that, it’s like we’ve still got to play the game.”
On the bright side, as Ewers mentioned, the offense actually looked capable for two and some change quarters. Ewers didn’t appear to fear a deep shot. He moved well in the pocket. And he didn’t take any sacks.
“There was some positive stuff going on with him and it being his first start,” coach Mike McDaniel said. “It wasn’t too big for him. He had us operating. I think we had no penalties in the first half. Ultimately it was 17-14 out of the first half.”
Everything changed in the third quarter. All three drives ended with a turnover – one fumble courtesy of Greg Dulcich as well as Ewers’ two picks – and the offense sputtered, amassing just 44 yards. The former Texas standout particularly struggled, completing just three of his eight passes for 35 yards.
“It’s hard to win ball games whenever you have three turnovers,” Ewers said. “I wish I had a couple of those throws back, but I think it’s a good learning moment and experience for all those guys in the locker room, myself included. Not the result that we wanted. It’s unfortunate.”
On the opposite sideline, Joe Burrow was nearly perfect, tossing just one incompletion out of nine throws for 98 yards and two touchdowns. Add in Chase Brown’s rushing touchdown and the Dolphins soon found themselves downs 38-14.
“It’s not good enough,” McDaniel said. “You have to be able to come out from halftime and adjust. We aren’t executing that at all. So back to the drawing board and all things are on the table for that.”
Ewers’ play in the final two quarters, however, was rather “tough to evaluate,” according to McDaniel, yet he did lead the Dolphins on a 97-yard touchdown drive during garbage time.
“I think there were a couple third downs I was hoping he could make,” McDaniel said. “But I think it’s a good starting point for him specifically.”
Regardless of the end result, the good news is that Ewers could have two more games to figure something out. McDaniel mentioned that he originally planned to have the rookie start for the rest of the season though the evaluation of the tape could change his perspective.
“I’ll have to look at the tape, but that’s kind of how I had it in my mind during the game,” McDaniel said. “I thought he earned some opportunities to continue to develop. I was happy how he handled the position. That’s not easy. I think that’s what’s frustrating, is it would be a lot better if it was on the rookie quarterback, but I don’t think it was.”
