Chris Perkins: Observations from Dolphins-Commanders; Tua is nearly perfect, offense shows toughness

MIAMI GARDENS — Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was nearly perfect Saturday night in his preseason debut against the Washington Commanders as the offense showed some of that toughness the team has been talking about throughout training camp.

It was a good start for Miami, which took a 10-6 halftime lead in its second preseason game of the year on the way to a 13-6 victory.

The Dolphins were aided by two missed first-half field goals by Washington, but things were still looking pretty good for Miami offensively to start the game while the defense might have some wrinkles to iron out.

Here are some of the takeaways from Saturday:

Tua has nice debut

Tagovailoa was sharp in his only possession against Washington, going 5 for 5 for 51 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions and a 148.8 passer rating (a perfect rating is 158.3).

On first down, Tagovailoa rifled an accurate 13-yard pass to wide receiver River Cracraft.

Tagovailoa showed comfort in the pocket as the Dolphins used a balanced offensive attack to drive down the field for an 11-play, 61-yard touchdown drive.

Quarterback Skylar Thompson came in for Miami’s second possession.

Dolphins players not in uniform

Among those players who weren’t in uniform Saturday: WR Tyreek Hill, LT Terron Armstead, C Aaron Brewer, TE Jody Fortson Jr., TE Tanner Conner, RB Jeff Wilson Jr., RB Salvon Ahmed, RB Jaylen Wright, WR Jaylen Waddle, WR Anthony Schwartz, DT Benito Jones, Edge rusher Jaelan Phillips, LB Anthony Walker Jr., CB Ethan Bonner, S Jevon Holland and S Jordan Poyer.

Smith comes in for nickel package

Cornerback Cam Smith, the 2023 second-round pick who is still looking to establish a role, entered the game for the nickel defense, playing right cornerback. Kader Kohou, who started at right cornerback opposite cornerback Kendall Fuller, moved to the slot.

Smith, who has had an understated training camp, was the closest defender on a 20-yard reception to Washington wide receiver Terry McLaurin when he missed a tackle after the short reception. Smith came back late in the second quarter with a nice pass breakup on a deep pass. He later left the game with an apparent leg injury.

Dolphins make tough, aggressive offensive calls

The Dolphins’ first possession saw them run the ball on third-and-1, fourth-and-1, second-and-1, and third-and-2.

Those were aggressive, tough calls; the type of calls you’d like to see continue if the Dolphins, as they say, want to be tougher this season.

On the third-and-1, running back Raheem Mostert (five carries, seven yards) went up the middle and was  denied.

On the fourth-and-1, coach Mike McDaniel called another run and this time Mostert got the first down by going up the middle again and this time he got the first down following the blocks of center Liam Eichenberg and left guard Robert Jones.

It was nice to see aggressive football from an offense regarded as a finesse unit.

Allen, Payne, Newton don’t play; Dolphins interior OL misses big test

The Dolphins’ interior offensive line didn’t get the test Saturday that many thought they’d get, or needed, because Commanders defensive tackles Jonathan Allen, Daron Payne and Jer’Zhan Newton, basically the main interior players, didn’t play.

Allen and Payne had pretty good success during Thursday’s joint practice working against a Miami interior offensive line that mainly consisted of Eichenberg, right guard Lester Cotton and Jones.

The Dolphins’ interior offensive line was OK on run plays in Thursday’s joint practice but struggled in pass protection.

Dolphins’ pass rush has room for growth

The Dolphins started edge rushers Emmanuel Ogbah and Quinton Bell, and while they weren’t bad, they also weren’t noticeable.

Edge rushers Chop Robinson, the first-round pick, Mohamed Kamara, the fifth-round pick, and Wyatt Ray, the newly-signed former St. Thomas Aquinas High player, rotated in for pass rush duties later in the game.

Cracraft goes locker room after TD

Cracraft (two receptions, 29 yards) went to the locker room after his 13-yard touchdown reception. Cracraft, who had a 16-yard reception on the first play of the game, might have been the best wide receiver to play considering Hill and Waddle didn’t. 

Wide receiver Braxton Berrios played along with wide receivers Malik Washington, Braylon Sanders, Willie Snead IV and Mike Harley.

There was no word on Cracraft’s ailment.

Linebacker David Long Jr. also left the game after going down following a tackle. Trainers came out to look at Long but he walked off the field on his own.

Thompson gets first look again

Thompson entered the game after Tagovailoa, meaning Thompson, who has probably had a better training camp than Mike White, last season’s No. 2 quarterback, got to play with the top backups for the second consecutive game. 

Thompson started 7 of 14 for 64 yards, no touchdowns, no interceptions and a 62.8 passer rating. 

Needham at backup slot, probably on 53-man roster

Defensive back Nik Needham got the nod at backup slot after Kohou left the game. Needham, who also plays special teams, will most likely make the 53-man regular-season roster.

Nothing is guaranteed for Needham, and the secondary remains crowded among starters Ramsey, Fuller, Holland, Poyer and Kohou. The prime backups are likely safeties Elijah Campbell and Marcus Maye at safeties and Needham at nickel.

The backup cornerback jobs are still up for grabs after Smith.

Cornerback Siran Neal is almost certainly on the 53-man roster because of his special teams duties.

Those in contention for the other backup cornerback jobs include Storm Duck, Bonner, Isaiah Johnson and Jason Maitre.

Rookie review … they did OK, not great

The 2024 draft class had a good outing last week vs. Atlanta, but their performance leveled off a bit Saturday.

Robinson, was so-so in limited action. He had two tackles, one for a loss.

Patrick Paul, the second-round pick, was also so-so, the lowlight being he got beaten badly on a pass rush and allowed a strip sack to White on a play that got guard Sean Harlow injured when White was thrown into Harlow’s knee on the sack.

Running back Jaylen Wright, the fourth-round pick, didn’t play. No reason was given but it’s likely injury-related.

Kamara, the fifth-round pick, had two tackles, one for a loss.

Safety Patrick McMorris, the sixth-round pick who tied for the team high with eight tackles last week, was active.

Wide receiver Malik Washington, the sixth-round pick who electrified with his punt returns and a reception last week, was relatively quiet with one receptions for four yards, one kickoff return for 20 yards and three punt returns for 35 yards.

Interior DL does better than edge rushers

The interior defensive line, which was led by Zach Seiler and Calais Campbell, but also included Isaiah Mack, Brandon Pili, Neville Gallimore and Leonard Payne, had a good showing. 

In fact, the interior defensive line played better than the edge rushers, which included Ogbah, Bell, Robinson and Kamara. 

Mack, Gallimore and Pili produced three of Miami’s four sacks. The remaining sack was split between linebacker Channing Tindall and safety Mark Perry.

Mack ended with two tackles while Gallimore and Pili had one apiece.

Among edge rushers Robinson, Bell and Kamara had two tackles apiece while Ogbah had one.

White puts together respectable outing

White started rough but finished well, going 11 of 20 for 116 yards, no touchdowns, no interceptions and a 72.1 passer rating.

White again played with lots of newcomers and guys who likely won’t make the 53-man roster. It showed.

White was sacked three times and faced pressure numerous other times. He also had to battle through at least two holding calls by wide receivers.

Still, he made some good throws and moved the offense reasonably well.

You’d think White will get the start in Friday’s preseason finale at Tampa Bay.

Perry has nice showing

Perry, the undrafted rookie safety from TCU, had four tackles, and interception and a half sack. Perry lost a fumble on the interception return but he still turned in a strong night.

Perry is on the outside for a spot on the 53-man roster but the practice squad is very realistic as a fallback option.