On Sunday, the Miami Dolphins took their fourth straight season opener, this time against the Jacksonville Jaguars 20-17. The Fins rallied back from a deficit that they found themselves in from the start of the game all the way until the clock ultimately struck zero. This type of adversity was not unfamiliar to the team from South Florida, but the response was. Overall, there’s a lot to unpack, much that I’ll get into in the article.
Reaction to Dolphins’ Week One Win
The Good
The Defense
Following the departure of Vic Fangio, many questioned who the Dolphins would bring in. That ended up being Anthony Weaver, former defensive line coach of the Baltimore Ravens. Added on to a defense without key pieces such as Brandon Jones, Andrew Van Ginkel, Xavien Howard, Jerome Baker, and of course, Christian Wilkins. With all these questions, it was thought the Dolphins would massively regress. Instead, they played better than fans have seen in a long while. Despite allowing a touchdown drive of 90+ yards, as well as a field goal right before the half, the defense regulated the Jaguars offense, and specifically Trevor Lawrence. Lawrence was held to 162 yards on just 12 completions and withholding two big breaks in coverage, the Jags had little to no passing attack. The Dolphins were mainly winning in the trenches (minus a 90-yard drive that ended in a fumble), and the line looked as it had in previous years. Specifically, Jaelan Phillips was a monster in the backfield, causing multiple pressures and even a sack which set the Dolphins up for their game-winning drive. Jevon Holland had a huge fumble forced as well as a PBU on the opening possession for the third quarter. Emmanuel Ogbah and Calais Campbell were also both very solid depth, as well as Da’Shawn Hand.
Jake Bailey, P
Jake Bailey was a beast. He was kicking the ball further than he had all of last year, putting punts perfectly inside the five and the twenty-yard line. Bailey reminded us of his all-pro days in New England and kept up with Logan Cooke in a game that had a lot more punts than to be expected on both sides. It seems as if the Dolphins have found a punter for the future in Bailey, such as Haack and Morestead.
Tua Tagovailoa, QB
Tua Tagovailoa, despite the pressure, played a very good game under the radar. Though it was sluggish at first, Tagovailoa eventually found his groove, spreading the ball throughout the field, and putting the hands in the ball of those who can make a play. Unlike prior season openers, Tagovailoa put the ball in harm’s way only once and made relatively smart decisions throughout the ball game. More games like this and the Dolphins will continue to score, and be even more careful with the football than they were last year.
The Meh
Receiving Corps and O-Line
The receiving core was meh against the Jaguars. They did what they had to do, and had a little bit of flash, but made silly mistakes that were avoidable and could have led to more Dolphins points. A bit more separation would have gone a long way with Tua’s day, and the speed was there as to be expected. The O-line was fantastic with pass blocking, but run blocking left a lot to be desired. When Tua is your leading rusher at just 26 yards, it says a lot about the league’s number-one offense a season ago. Jeff Wilson was the only one who could actually rake in positive gains consistently, and he only rushed five times. A lot of the stuff is easy to fix, and I’m sure Miami will be ready to run again when they face Buffalo on Thursday Night.
Jason Sanders, K
If Jason Sanders didn’t hook a 40-yard field goal 25 yards to the left, he wouldn’t be on here. But he did. He still did fantastic, showing once again his clutch x-factor as he drilled a 50+ yard field goal as time expired to give the Dolphins their win. But it’s silly mistakes like those which can sometimes happen to kickers, which without, would have made it so much easier on the Dolphins.
The Yuck
Durham Smythe, TE
The consensus Dolphins tight end a year ago struggled in the 2024 debut. Durham Smythe dropped multiple balls, committed a penalty, and was getting fewer snaps in favor of Julian Hill, the second-year tight end from Campbell. There’s no doubt that Smythe can bounce back, but the way he struggled leaves somewhat of a dim day on an otherwise normal passing attack vs the Jags.
First Half Play Calling
The Dolphins were surprisingly conservative in the first half. When they decided to take shots, two were focused on poor wheel routes to Tyreek Hill, which caused the offense to stall. Tagovailoa and Mike McDaniel seemed concerned with the offensive line in the sense that they couldn’t be trusted. As a result, the Dolphins stayed largely in a bubble, struggling to get outside of it. As a result, they struggled to score and couldn’t until the 2nd half when they finally started to get their groove back.
Main Image: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
