The Miami Dolphins defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 16-10 at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday night, earning their fourth win under head coach Mike McDaniel.
While there were a lot of questions about the team heading into the game, the performances on the field really answered a lot of them.
Here are a few things that we learned from Miami’s prime-time victory:
Tua Tagovailoa looked a little rusty
Tagovailoa missed Miami’s Week 5 and 6 matchups against the New York Jets and Minnesota Vikings due to his placement in concussion protocol, allowing Teddy Bridgewater and Skylar Thompson to get snaps.
When the former first-round pick returned on Sunday, he started off with a drive that looked like he didn’t miss a play, as Miami took nine plays to get 71 yards and a touchdown.
However, after their first possession, Tagovailoa completed just 14 of his 27 attempts (51.9%) for 193 yards. A few of his passes were extremely close to being intercepted which could’ve changed the result of this contest.
The defense continues to take hits
Entering this game, Miami had already been without Byron Jones, Keion Crossen, Kader Kohou, Trill Williams and Emmanuel Ogbah due to injury. Then, in the third quarter, safety Brandon Jones went down with a knee injury that required him to be helped off of the field to keep pressure off of his leg.
In Jones’ absence, the Dolphins deployed Eric Rowe, Verone McKinley III and Clayton Fejedelem more frequently. If players keep going down on this side of the ball it will be difficult for Miami to keep up with opposing offenses.
Any running back questions are dead
Raheem Mostert has officially taken over as the lead back, as he’s pulling away from Chase Edmonds, who was expected to be the starter when the two were signed this offseason.
On Sunday, Mostert out-snapped Edmonds 44 to 18. For the season, Mostert has rushed for 388 yards and a touchdown on 4.5 yards a carry while adding another 94 yards and a touchdown on 12 receptions. Edmonds, on the other hand, has rushed for just 106 yards and two touchdowns on 2.8 yards per attempt, adding another 96 yards and one score on 10 receptions.
The biggest difference has been the drops. Edmonds has seemed to have that problem all year, including on Sunday, bringing his season total to three (tied for the team lead with Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle).
The return game needs to be better.
When the Dolphins entered training camp with Waddle and Hill on the roster, there was a real hope that the punt return game would be much improved from their 2021 campaign.
However, through seven weeks, Miami has relied on Jevon Holland to hold the job with Hill and Cedrick Wilson Jr. also getting some opportunities. The Dolphins have totaled just 15 yards on their seven punt returns.
According to ESPN’s Marcel Louis-Jacques, they rank 32nd in yards per return (2.14) with an average starting field position following a punt at their own 19-yard line.
Waddle and Hill’s health is extremely important considering their usage in the offense, but they haven’t had any success with the other options, and it’s actually hurting that side of the ball by making them start so far back.
It may be time to unleash one of the two in that role.
