Miami Dolphins, Tua Tagovailoa top Chargers
LOS ANGELES — The Dolphins upset the Chargers, 36-34, in a thriller on Sunday with nine lead changes.
Tua Tagovailoa and Tyreek Hill were sensational.
River Cracraft, Jaylen Waddle, Kendall Lamm, Isaiah Wynn, Connor Williams (despite a few poor exchanges), Robert Hunt, Austin Jackson, Jaelan Phillips, Eli Apple, Kader Kohou and Jevon Holland were all top contributors.
The Dolphins (1-0) are now AFC East favorites, after the Bills looked average, the Patriots looked below-average and the Jets lost Aaron Rodgers to an Achilles injury on Monday night.
Many coaches believe “The Tape Don’t Lie,” and that list includes Mike McDaniel.
“The game tape survives time,” McDaniel says.
Here are some things we noticed in Miami’s scintillating victory:
Tua’s arm is fine
Tua Tagovailoa has a strong enough arm to make the downfield passes required in Mike McDaniel’s offense.
This is not a dink-and-dunk, play-it-safe offense.
Tua has strengthened his body and it shows.
No, it’s not a Justin Herbert-Josh Allen-like bazooka.
But when Tua has his momentum going in the right direction, he has enough torque to make the required downfield throws. His arm is stronger. And he has a more varied arsenal of pitches.
His accuracy and touch – see 4-yard, game-winning touchdown pass to Tyreek Hill – may be unmatched.
And yes, we’ll see what happens when he’s forced to make off-platform, off-balance throws in the bitter cold, wind, rain, sleet or snow.
But that’s not his strength.
And McDaniel is now playing to Tua’s strengths.
Tua has improved his arm strength, too, to where it seems entirely sufficient enough.
On Sunday, the Dolphins had 17 plays of 15 yards or more.
That hadn’t been done in the NFL in 11 years.
Already, Tua and Tyreek are both legitimately on the NFL MVP watch list.
There must be time and space reserved here for The Throw from Sunday.
Tua’s 47-yard completion to Tyreek on a 3rd-10 from Miami’s 25-yard line with less than four minutes to play is the best and arguably most clutch throw he has made as an NFL player.
Tua stepped up into the pocket and uncorked a beautiful spiral that landed in Tyreek’s bread basket.
Perfect throw. Just perfect.
Incidentally, that ball was 43 yards in the air. Plenty of arm to get it there.
Protecting Tua and Tua protecting Tua
Miami’s offensive line did a stellar job at protecting Tagovailoa on Sunday.
Tua left this game with a clean jersey as he was not sacked.
Kudos is especially reserved for Kendall Lamm, who excelled in place of Pro Bowl left tackle Terron Armstead, and right tackle Austin Jackson.
Those two put the teachings of new line coach Butch Barry into action.
Kudos also to left guard Isaiah Wynn, who PFF said did not allow a single pressure or hurry.
It should also be noted that Tagovailoa moved around, in and out of the pocket gracefully and nimbly.
Tua deserves credit for all the work he put in this offseason learning how to best avoid direct hits as well as how to limit risk of head injury when falling after contact.
That too was on display Sunday.
More: No sacks allowed! Dolphins offensive line does “amazing” “great job” for Tua
Run defense fits issues
It was quite shocking how much more Andrew Van Ginkel played at middle linebacker than key free-agent addition David Long. But it seemed none of Miami’s linebackers, including Jerome Baker, had a strong game against the run on Sunday.
At least one Dolphins cited a need to address run fits after the game.
In particular, the Chargers had a lot of success with run plays up the middle.
On one play in the third quarter, which exemplified Miami’s run defense, Emmanuel Ogbah could not get off a block to seal his edge and Joshua Kelley gained 14 yards.
On the very next play, Austin Ekeler went right up the middle for 11 yards.
On that play, Raekwon Davis and Jerome Baker were effectively blocked out of position to make a play.
Baker exhibited obvious frustration.
More: Miami Dolphins defense not happy with performance against Chargers: ‘That wasn’t our standard’
On a 55-yard run by Ekeler up the middle in the second quarter, Christian Wilkins and Raekwon Davis were double-teamed and the combination of linebackers Baker and David Long were unable to shed blocks and get into the proper position to make the play.
One thing players were candid about after Game 1 is that this is a totally new scheme, with a coordinator who asks for totally different things.
So there shall be a small grace period for Miami to “clean it up.”
One thing that happened in the final five minutes was Jaelan Phillips came through with pressures.
Phillips led Miami with seven pressures in this game.
One overlooked pressure came on third down, with the Chargers in Miami’s red zone, leading 31-30 with less than four minutes to play. An incompletion prevented what could have been a game-deciding touchdown.
More: Zach Sieler, Jaelan Phillips sacks of Justin Hebert seal Dolphins’ win
Then, of course, Phillips sealed the game by running around a tackle and sacking Herbert on fourth down, with less than a minute to play.
And kudos to defensive coordinator Vic Fangio for blitzing defensive back Justin Bethel on that play.
Mike McDaniel scheming it up
McDaniel made necessary adjustments following a loss at the Chargers last season.
One thing McDaniel did on Sunday was to line up running backs outside, which caused the Chargers to use big personnel, which then gave Miami a schematic advantage.
McDaniel’s strong game was highlighted by several analysts.
“Masterful,” ESPN’s Ryan Clark said.
Another thing McDaniel did was use players in plays that play to their strengths.
For example, second-year receiver Erik Ezukanma, who has size and strength, was utilized on an effective end-around and also targeted on a long pass just before halftime that drew a pass interference and led to three points.
Ezukanma also converted a third down run on a pitch, when lined up in the backfield.
On one play, McDaniel had fullback Alec Ingold sneak out into the flat after lining up as a blocking tight end.
Ingold’s versatility – he made a catch on the play – can prove invaluable to Miami this season.
McDaniel had a great game.
Fourteen seconds before the half on Sunday, he called a timeout after the Chargers were stopped on third down and before their made field goal. This was unexpected and also brilliant clock management.
“I was very aware it was going to be unusual and if it didn’t work, people would be like, ‘What were you doing?’” McDaniel said.
McDaniel did not waste the 9 seconds left after FG. Miami then set up – via a long pass-interference drawn by Ezukanma – and converted a field goal that proved game-deciding.
More: 5 Instant Takeaways: Tua, Dolphins rally to defeat Chargers in season opener
This & That
If Jaylen Waddle’s side was hurting you couldn’t tell as he looked as explosive as Tyreek Hill on a catch-and-run on the opening possession of the game. With Hill and Waddle, Miami has arguably the top two danger threats at the receiving position in the entire league. If they’re healthy (enough), they’re an impossible combination to stop. McDaniel did a great job of having Hill begin plays in numerous different spots… Connor Williams took all responsibility for bad center-quarterback exchanges, when asked by the Post in the locker room after the game. Williams cited first-game jitters and said necessary corrections will be made… Cornerback Eli Apple did a really nice job, including in run support… Receiver Braxton Berrios is a perfect fit for number three receiver in the McDaniel offense and a perfect third-down security blanket for Tua. Working with Wes Welker is only going to help Berrios, who is slippery and evasive… Kader Kohou is an absolutely outstanding tackler for a cornerback… The Dolphins blitzed only 7 times on Sunday, which was tied for 22nd most in the NFL. But Miami hurried Justin Herbert 11 percent of downs, which was 12th in the NFL. I’m no scholar, but I suppose blitzing less can make the blitz less predictable… Xavien Howard was called for pass interference twice in the third quarter and illegal contact in the fourth quarter. He is adjusting to a new scheme, in which he’s not in man-to-man press coverage anywhere near as often. With the game on the line, on the Chargers’ final possession, Howard was the only Dolphins defensive back who went into man-to-man, press mode… “Exciting” Dolphins-Chargers stat: 9 lead changes. “Boring” Dolphins-Chargers stat: 14 kickoffs, 14 touchbacks.
Joe Schad is a journalist at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at [email protected] and follow him on social media platforms @schadjoe. Sign up for Joe’s free weekly Dolphins Pulse Newsletter. Help support our work by subscribing.
