Dolphins-Chargers: Things we learned in Miami’s win over Los Angeles
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — It was quite a season-opening 36-34 victory for the Miami Dolphins over the Los Angeles Chargers in a battle of two projected AFC playoff teams.
The Dolphins were on the road without Pro Bowl left tackle Terron Armstead, usually a bad omen. But they managed to overcome that absence with a hard-fought offensive effort, which was necessary to offset the shaky defensive effort.
Here are some other takeaways from Sunday’s victory:
Tyreek 2K?
Wide receiver Tyreek Hill, who has a goal of reaching 2,000 yards receiving, had 215 yards on 11 receptions with two touchdowns.
At his current pace he’d end the season with — 3,655 yards receiving.
Hill must average 117.6 yards per game to reach 2,000, which would establish a NFL record.
Hill had receptions of 16, 29, 35 and 47 yards.
And, yeah, 2,000 yards appears within reach and reason. — Chris Perkins
Special teams guys
If you know the core special teams guys, you get insight on who might be active and inactive each week, and gain insight into the reason.
Among the Dolphins’ core special teams players Sunday were rookie cornerback Cam Smith, linebackers Andrew Van Ginkel, Duke Riley, Channing Tindall and Cameron Goode, cornerbacks Justin Bethel and Kelvin Joseph, and running backs Salvon Ahmed and Chris Brooks.
Look for these guys to be active most weeks, which makes life a bit tougher for someone such as rookie running back De’Von Achane, the third-round pick from Texas A&M, who isn’t yet a core special teams player.
Blame it on me
Center Connor Williams took the blame for all three bad snaps Sunday although one clearly, which Tagovailoa dropped while in the shotgun formation, wasn’t his fault.
“I think all of them were on me,” Williams said. “First-game jitters, getting back into it. Obviously we’ll continue cleaning it up.”
Williams had problems with shotgun snaps during the preseason last year and this year. He didn’t have any issues during the regular season last year. Most likely Williams will get it fixed, such as he did a year ago.
Good comeback
Wide receiver River Cracraft, who wears No. 85, was asked why he didn’t do the Riverdance after his 1-yard touchdown reception.
“It’s already been done by another Ocho Cinco,” he said, referring to former wide receiver Chad Johnson.
Cracraft, who now has three career touchdowns, said he’s had one or two touchdown celebrations in mind, but after scoring he forgets to execute them.
Debuts
Smith, Brooks and Goode made their NFL debuts Sunday.
Achane and tight end Julian Hill were inactive.
Smith, the second-round pick from South Carolina, didn’t play from scrimmage.
Chargers challenge saves four points
The Chargers challenged a Hill reception in the second quarter that would have given the Dolphins the ball inside the 1-yard line.
But it was ruled Hill only had one foot inbounds so the Dolphins faced a third-and-goal from the 5-yard line. Tagovailoa’s pass to wide receiver Braxton Berrios was broken up by safety Derwin James, and the Dolphins settled for a 23-yard field goal by kicker Jason Sanders to take a 10-7 lead.
Of course, the Chargers gave three points back to the Dolphins on a defensive pass interference call late in the first half that allowed a field goal.
And the Chargers lost a challenge in the fourth quarter on a reception by Berrios.
Dolphins’ run defense lacking
The Dolphins were fourth in run defense last season at 103.0 yards per game allowed, but the Chargers, led by Austin Ekeler’s 117 yards, rushed for 234 yards largely by running it right at the defense and linebackers David Long Jr. and Jerome Baker.
Defensive lineman Christian Wilkins held it down up front but the Chargers largely had their way with the Dolphins’ front seven.
It was an unexpected twist to a game that had a few unexpected twists.
Tagovailoa runs and slides
We didn’t know the circumstances when Tagovailoa would run (scramble, quarterback sneak, etc) but he had a seven-yard gain in the third quarter.
Tagovailoa scrambled directly upfield after waiting for a receiver to get open. No one did. So he tucked the ball and slid safely in front of a defender.
It was the second time Tagovailoa showed excellent situational awareness. He threw a ball into the ground near the goal line earlier in the game inside of forcing a bad throw or holding the ball and waiting for someone to come open late, which might have been how he sustained a concussion against Cincinnati last season.
Red zone offense
The Dolphins were 3 of 5 with two turnovers in red zone offense while the Chargers were 4 of 5.
The key red zone possession was the fourth quarter touchdown that delivered a 36-34 lead. The Dolphins drove 75 yards in eight plays, using 2:08. The touchdown came on a 4-yard pass from Tagovailoa to Hill.
The Dolphins lost a fumble on the quarterback-center exchange at the 2-yard line on their first possession of the game, spoiling a red zone opportunity.
Tagovailoa threw an interception in the third quarter on a pass intended for wide receiver Braxton Berrios. It appeared Berrios was inside and the throw was outside, giving cornerback J.C. Jackson the interception.
The Dolphins got a 2-yard touchdown run by running back Raheem Mostert last in the first quarter and had to settle for a 23-yard field goal in the second quarter.
Pass protection
Offensive tackles Austin Jackson and Kendall Lamm got off to a good start against Chargers linebackers Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack.
Lamm, the veteran left tackle replacing Armstead, did a good job keeping Mack out of Tagovailoa’s sight line and out of the backfield.
Jackson, who earned the starting job in training camp despite playing only two games last year because of ankle injuries, did nice work mostly against Bosa.
Tagovailoa barely had any pressure from the edges all day.
Of course, pass protection involves the offensive line, fullback and tight ends, so nice work by all involved. And we don’t want to slight the interior offensive line of Williams, right guard Robert Hunt and left guard Isiah Wynn.
But hats off to Jackson and Lamm.
Edge rushers Chubb and Phillips quiet
Edge rushers Bradley Chubb and Jaelan Phillips didn’t have big numbers, and neither made an especially memorable play.
But it wasn’t as though Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert had all kinds of time to throw the ball. The Dolphins put a respectable amount of pressure on Herbert but Chargers left tackle Rashawn Slater, who went against Chubb, and right tackle Trey Pipkins III, who went against Phillips, did nice work.
Justin Bethel in dime package
Veteran safety Justin Bethel was the sixth defensive back in the dime package, beating out players such as Smith, and safeties Brandon Jones and Verone McKinley.
Bethel was a question mark as recently as two weeks ago due to a knee injury. The Dolphins don’t play much dime defense but the fact that Bethel beat out the younger players shows defensive coordinator Vic Fangio likely has a better level of trust with the 33-year-old Bethel.
OK. THAT was maestro game management by Mike McDaniel
With 25 seconds left in the first half, the Chargers had a third-and-10 from the Miami 35. Justin Herbert tucked the ball and ran toward the the Dolphins sideline. After a gain of 3, Herbert slid to stay in bounds and keep the clock running. Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel was having none of it and immediately called a timeout with 14 ticks left.
After a tying field goal, Miami got the kickoff with 9 seconds left. Tua Tagovailoa threw a pretty ball to Jaylen Waddle on the right side for 22 yards to near midfield. With 2 seconds left, Tagovailoa throw deep to the left toward Erik Ezukanma. Inexplicably (Ezukanma was at the 23-yard line), J.C. Jackson interfered with him, and, after a 41-yard Jason Sanders field goal, coach McDaniel’s moves had given Miami a 20-17 halftime lead. That was three points. What was the winning margin again? — Steve Svekis
Tua Tagovailoa in Dolphins’ road openers is a Hall of Fame quarterback
In those three games against the Patriots, Ravens and Chargers, the fourth-year passer has completed 80-of-122 passes for 1,137 yards, 10 touchdown passes and only four interceptions, a 103.8 passer rating.
No Terron Armstead in 2023 may be the opposite of no Terron Armstead in 2022
Where every Dolphins quarterback was under siege virtually any snap where the four-time Pro Bowl left tackle was sidelined last year, the Chargers’ Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack barely breathed on Tua Tagovailoa on Sunday. General manager Chris Grier insisted in the offseason that media and fans were more concerned about the offensive line than the Dolphins brass was. Perhaps that will end up being fully justified.
The defense remained porous on the road … does it matter?
Sunday marked the 12th consecutive road game where Miami has allowed at least 23 points, dating back to a 34-3 loss at Tennessee in the 2021 season road finale. The home opponents have averaged 31.4 points a game during that stretch.
Dolphins have an unprecedented scheduling quirk this season
The advent of the 17-game season has made it so each team plays an uneven number of games at home and on the road. The 2023 Dolphins and Raiders are the third and fourth teams in the three 17-game seasons to have nine home games on the schedule, but start the season with consecutive road games. The other two teams were the 2021 Broncos and 2022 Buccaneers. Those teams in those six road games? 6-0.
However, the Dolphins not only start the season at the Chargers and Patriots, but they are the only team of the quartet to only have only five true road games in their final 15 contests, as the result of another technical road game, against the Chiefs, being played in Germany. While both the Broncos and Buccaneers each opened their seasons 2-0, they deeply struggled despite the home-heavy imbalance, with Denver winning only five more games and Tampa Bay six.
No Gesicki, no problem
Coming into 2023, Durham Smythe’s most receiving yards in a game was 59. His 44 yards (on three catches) are the second-highest output of his six-year and 80-game career.
The Dolphins specialists? Hmmmm
New punter Jake Bailey punted once, for a net of 35 yards. Bailey is coming off a final season with the Patriots where he had a net of 35.1 yards. And, Jason Sanders missing an extra point that would provide a three-point gap in the final two minutes heightens the anxiety coming off a shaky 2022 himself.
On Deck: At New England Patriots, Sunday, Sept. 17, 8:20 p.m.
Tua Tagovailoa has never absorbed a loss against the New England Patriots. His 4-0 record against Bill Belichick has been fashioned despite the Miami offense generating 18 points per game. However, the Dolphins defense has scored three touchdowns in those games. The Patriots will be up against it after losing a 25-20 decision to the Philadelphia Eagles.
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