Dolphins-Commanders Instant Takeaways

The Miami Dolphins made it 2-0 on the preseason with their victory against Washington

Miami Dolphins running back De'Von Achane (28) takes a handoff from quarterback Skylar Thompson (19) during the second quarter of a preseason game at Hard Rock Stadium. / Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

What stood out during the Miami Dolphins' 13-6 victory against the Washington Commanders in their preseason game at Hard Rock Stadium:

-- More than anything, the highlight of this game was QB Tua Tagovailoa's first appearance of the preseason and him leading the offense to a touchdown on his only drive. Tua was very sharp and his TD throw to River Cracraft was a perfectly thrown fade.

-- Another highlight was big plays made by rookie defenders Chop Robinson (a big tackle for loss) and Mohamed Kamara (a sack off a great individual effort).

-- Overall, though, it was a typical preseason affair, with some sloppy play, good individual performances here and there, although not to the level of what we saw in the preseason opener against the Atlanta Falcons. And there unfortunately was another long list of injuries to the Dolphins in this game, including what looked like a potentially serious knee injury to offensive lineman Sean Harlow.

-- The Dolphins held on for the win after another late defensive stand, which would have made for a nerve-racking, thrilling finish for a regular season game, which of course this wasn't.

-- The list of "inactives" — in quotation marks because there's no official list in the preseason — included, as expected, all the players dealing with minor injuries, along with those just returning like Jaelan Phillips and Terron Armstead. WR Tyreek Hill was the most prominent offensive player sitting out.

-- Rookie running back Jaylen Wright also sat out, but most of the starters were in uniform.

THE STARTING DEFENSIVE LINEUP

-- With Jalen Ramsey and Ethan Bonner sitting out the game, 2023 second-round pick Cam Smith was in the starting lineup opposite Kendall Fuller at cornerback.

-- The first-team defense did a good job against the run on the first drive of the game, but gave up some completions with some soft coverage. On one of those, a third-and-3 play, Smith whiffed on the tackle attempt and that allowed Terry McLaurin to turn a short completion into a 20-yard gain. Not good.

-- That drive ended with an incompletion on third-and-6 when Jayden Daniels threw the ball way too early — the Dolphins blitzed on the play but weren't close to him — and went way off the mark to McLaurin after he did appear to get behind Cam Smith.

-- The starting offensive line, for those keeping track had veteran Kendall Lamm at left tackle, Robert Jones at left guard, Liam Eichenberg at center, Lester Cotton at right guard, and Austin Jackson at right tackle.

TUA AND HIS IMPRESSIVE ONE DRIVE

-- The Dolphins passing game was on point with Tua and the starters (other than Hill and Waddle) and it looked a lot like last year from the start with quick throws and creative play-calling.

-- Among Tua's five completions on the drive was a shovel pass to tight end Jonnu Smith that went for 8 yards.

-- The running game wasn't particularly impressive on the drive, though, coming up short on a third-and-1 run and a third-and-2 run. The Dolphins converted on fourth down twice, the first time with a Raheem Mostert run and the second on Tua's beautiful 13-yard touchdown pass on a fade to River Cracraft in the corner of the end zone.

-- On their second defensive series, the Dolphins allowed three runs of 10 yards or longer, all of them on the side of rookie first-round pick Chop Robinson.

-- Linebacker Curtis Bolton was beaten down the middle for a 16-yard completion on the drive, but he later induced a holding penalty on a third-and-1 run when he shot the gap and looked ready to meet Austin Ekeler at the line of scrimmage. Bolton has been impressive since joining the Dolphins.

-- Linebacker David Long Jr. was shaken up after a Washington run, and it appeared he was the victim of an accidental head-to-head hit from a teammate.

-- Skylar Thompson took over at quarterback for the second series and the Dolphins went three-and-out when he went 0-for-2.

-- His first incompletion was a deep shot to Braylon Sanders, who really wasn't that open deep and the second was an off-target swing pass to De'Von Achane.

-- The one positive play on the drive was a nifty 7-yard run by Achane on a sweep.

-- Jeff Driskel took over at quarterback for Washington's third drive and that ended in Riley Patterson's second field goal miss in three attempts after one big play, a 41-yard scramble by Driskel through a gaping hole over the middle.

-- Props to Kader Kohou for his sure tackle of running back Jeremy McNichols after he caught a swing pass near the sideline on third-and-8.

-- Thompson's second drive was more successful and ended in a Jason Sanders field goal and it was highlighted by a 26-yard completion to Achane near the right sideline when he got between zones, but Thompson missed the same throw to Durham Smythe on the next play.

-- Thompson had a nice back-shoulder completion to Braylon Sanders, who made a nice catch, but then Thompson threw into traffic.

-- The last incompletion on the drive was almost a great TD pass by Thompson after he scrambled to his right, but the ball was tipped by a Washington defender and Braxton Berrios couldn't hang on.

-- On the next defensive series, two good plays by young defenders stood out, Mohamed Kamara stopping Jeremy McNichols after a 1-yard run and Cam Smith providing blanket coverage on a third-and-5 deep incompletion.

-- Skylar's next series ended when Malik Washington failed to come up with a diving catch on a long pass down the left side. It was a difficult catch, but one that has to be made.

-- Before that, Thompson had a really nice completion to Jonnu Smith in traffic.

-- Chop Robinson had his first big play of the preseason when he shot through the line to tackle Michael Wiley for a 4-yard loss right before the two-minute warning.

-- Kamara followed that later by easily beating the left tackle at the line to get right on top of Driskel and sack him for a 6-yard line.

-- That drive should have ended in a Washington touchdown, though, after Siran Neal was beaten down the left sideline, but Driskel threw the ball way too late and too short and it allowed Neal to break up the play.

-- The last score of the half was a second Patterson field goal that made it 10-6.

SECOND-HALF HIGHLIGHTS

-- The highlight of the second half was a pretty Mike White completion to third-year wide receiver Erik Ezukanma, and the lowlight was an injury sustained by running back Chris Brooks shortly after he broke loose for a 59-yard run.

-- Ezukanma's catch was his second big play of the half because he earlier gained 6 yards on an end-around on a play that should have been a big loss after he was surrounded in the backfield but then broke tackles.

-- Brooks broke loose on his 59-yard run on a third-and-1 when he found a hole over the middle.

-- But after Brooks was injured, the Dolphins had to use rookie wide receiver at running back because they didn't want to go back to Mostert or Achane, and Wright, Jeff Wilson Jr. and Salvon Ahmed all weren't dressed.

-- Veteran guard Sean Harlow later was injured on the play where Mike White was sacked in the red zone when Patrick Paul took too wide a set and let linebacker Jamin Davis get inside him for a clean shot at White. The replay seemed to indicate that White fell on the side of Harlow's knee.

-- Couldn't help but notice it was Noah Igbinoghene who blew up a quick pass to Ezukanma on a second-and-goal play in Thompson's last series at quarterback.

-- That drive ended with Thompson getting sack on third down, but that one was a coverage sack.

-- Channing Tindall was beaten in coverage by tight end Ben Sinnott for a 10-yard gain in the third quarter, not good for his chances of making the 53-man roster.

-- On the flip side, rookie free agent Storm Duck had great coverage deep to force an incompletion, which was followed by Brandon Pili fighting his way up the middle to get a sack of Jeff Driskel.

-- Ezukanma's 35-yard reception came on a perfect throw by White over the top.

-- White and Ezukanma, who had a big outing, connecting again for a 24-yard gain over the middle late in the third quarter.

-- That drive ended when Jason Sanders missed wide right on a 49-yard field goal attempt, his second miss of the preseason. That's not exactly what the Dolphins want to see.

pu-- The Dolphins got another sack from one of their big defensive linemen, this one from Isaiah Mack in the fourth quarter.

-- Malik Washington looked good returning punts for a second consecutive game, and one can only wonder whether that performance could mean trouble for Braxton Berrios' roster spot.

-- Disappointing development in the fourth quarter when Cam Smith hopped off the field holding his right hamstring after being on punt coverage.

-- Isaiah Johnson had a really nice play in run support.

-- And then it was Ezekiel Vandenburgh's turn to get injured as he got off the field slowly holding his right knee.

-- The Dolphins defense got a takeaway midway through the fourth quarter when safety Jordan Colbert pulled the ball out and Pat McMorris recovered.

-- And yet another injury late with Braylon Sanders walking gingerly after being the intended target on a deep incompletion.

-- Neville Gallimore was yet another backup defensive tackle who got some pressure on the quarterback.

-- Tindall got himself a sack late in the fourth quarter after Trace McSorley was flushed in the pocket.

-- Before that, the biggest highlight for the second half of the fourth quarter was a 66-yard punt by Jake Bailey. But, yes, this was a tough watch toward the end. And then Bailey shanked one 29 yards to give Washington the ball at its 47 down seven points to start its final drive.

-- White got off a pretty good start but his outing went south once he started playing with guys on the back end of the roster.

-- He wasn't helped by a bad drop down the field from Harley, but then wasn't able to connect on a swing pass to Burton that actually was a backward pass, resulting in an 8-yard loss on first down when the ball went out of bounds.

-- Rookie safety Mark Perry shared a sack with Tindall, but made a mental mistake when he came up with a deflected interception in the final minute and didn't simply go down. Instead, the ball was stripped away from him and Washington recovered for another change to pull out a victory.

-- Rookie free agent Jason Maitre came up with a tackle for loss on a reception in the final minute.

-- Rookie free agent Storm Duck had sticky coverage all night, though there was one occasion where he looked like he got away with illegal contact.

-- The Dolphins clinched the victory because a Washington wide receiver couldn't make the catch on what should have been a touchdown, which would have set up a game-deciding two-point conversion attempt.