Dolphins-Raiders Preseason Home Opener Observations

Checking out the key moments from the Miami Dolphins' 15-13 loss against the Las Vegas Raiders at Hard Rock Stadium

Here's what caught our eye during the Miami Dolphins' 15-13 loss against the Las Vegas Raiders at Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday night:

-- We'll start with the lineup, which this time included starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and also was supposed to include Tyreek Hill until Mike McDaniel had a late change of heart. Raheem Mostert and Melvin Ingram also were late scratches. As we expected because they missed practice time this past week, Jaylen Waddle, Terron Armstead and Eric Rowe were among the most notable players kept out, as was cornerback Xavien Howard.

-- The Raiders played without several of their marquee players, including QB Derek Carr, RB Josh Jacobs, WR Davante Adams, DE Chandler Jones and DE Maxx. Crosby.

DOLPHINS-RAIDERS FIRST QUARTER

-- The opening drive by the Raiders with Jarrett Stidham at quarterback eas depressing for the Dolphins, who gave up a 75-yard touchdown march that included a fourth-and-4 conversion and an 18-yard pick-up on third-and-4 when Keelan Cole easily beat Noah Igbinoghene on a slant.

-- The bright spots on that first drive came courtesy of Zach Sieler, who had a sack up the middle and a tackle for loss by Andrew Van Ginkel, who later failed to maintain the edge on a jet sweep that went for 7 yards.

-- The Dolphins' first drive wasn't overwhelming, though it did feature a third-down conversion when Tagovailoa had great protection and was able to eventually dump the ball off to Chase Edmonds for a 17-yard gain.

-- There was only one rushing attempt on the drive, and it was a flop as the Dolphins left a linebacker come in untouched to drop Edmonds for a 4-yard loss.

-- On the failed third-down conversion, Mike Gesicki didn't turn his head as Tua's pass over the middle arrived, though it's impossible to know who was at fault there.

-- The Dolphins ran two naked bootlegs, but those two plays went nowhere with one incompletion and one 1-yard gain by Gesicki.

-- The Dolphins' second defensive series was much better, though it was marred by Nik Needham having to leave the game with a hand/finger injury after he made a tackle on a third-down screen pass.

-- The first play of the drive was another forgettable one for Igbinoghene, who gave WR Tyron Johnson an awful lot of cushion for an easy 8-yard completion.

-- On third down, Keion Crossen showed his great recovery speed when he was able to catch up to Johnson after being beaten momentarily by a stop-and-go move.

-- The Dolphins' second possession started with a 16-yard completion to Trent Sherfield, who found a soft spot in the Raiders zone for an easy pitch-and-catch with Tua.

-- The drive was kept alive on a third-and-3 from the Raiders 37 when Edmonds turned a loss into a 4-yard gain by shaking a defender in the backfield after catching a swing pass.

-- That promising drive ended with a 46-yard field goal by Jason Sanders, who's now 5-for-5 on the preseason, but that was a major disappointment after the Dolphins had a second-and-1 and Sony Michel was stuffed for no gain twice and then Larnel Coleman committed a false start on fourth-and-1. The inability to gain a single yard on two running plays is alarming.

-- The Raiders' third drive ended in a punt, but not before there was a 22-yard third-down way-too-easy completion against newcomer Mackensie Alexander on a slant. And the play ended with Crossen being shaken up.

DOLPHINS-RAIDERS SECOND QUARTER

-- The drive featured an incompletion forced by pressure from John Jenkins, followed by a sack by Porter Gustin, who looks like he could become a great under-the-radar acquisition by the Dolphins.

-- The Dolphins gave up a safety on their first drive with Teddy Bridgewater at quarterback when he was flagged for intentional grounding in the end zone. The play came off a busted naked bootleg when there was immediate pressure after Mike Gesicki failed to sustain his block at the line of scrimmage, though Bridgewater deserves a lot of the blame for failing to just throw the ball away after he got out of the pocket instead of waiting until he was being brought down.

-- After the defense produced a three-and-out on the following series, Lynn Bowden Jr. made a good decision to field a bouncing punt at the Dolphins 18 instead of letting it roll toward the end zone.

-- Bridgewater's second drive was better and included a pretty 20-yard completion near the left sideline.

-- Another missed tight end block, this one by Cethan Carter, resulted in a 3-yard loss on an end-around by Braylon Sanders and then Gesicki dropped a third-down pass after taking a big hit over the middle.

-- Jason Sanders continued his great preseason when he absolutely nailed a 57-yard attempt right down the middle to make the score 9-6.

-- Duke Riley, who's also had a very good summer, was a factor in stopping former Dolphins back Kenyan Drake to no gain on back-to-back running plays before the two-minute warning. On the second, he shot through the gap to meet Drake at the line and immediately dropped him.

-- Tagovailoa's final passing stats against the Raiders: 6-for-8 for 58 yards with no touchdowns, no interceptions and a 94.8 passer rating. It was a solid outing, even though his two drives produced only three points.

-- Rookie free agent Kader Kohou broke up a Raiders third-down pass to force a punt.

-- Bowden again showed his open-field ability on his second punt return, which he took 16 yards.

-- Bridgewater had a pretty 28-yard completion to Sanders on a third down late in the first half.

-- Myles Gaskin fumbled when he took a big hit shortly after catching a pass from Bridgewater, and the Dolphins probably were spared a long return for a touchdown because the officials blew the play dead. The ruling of an incompletion was changed after review. 

DOLPHINS-RAIDERS THIRD QUARTER

-- The Dolphins received the second-half kickoff with Preston Williams back to return, though it was a touchback. That's still noteworthy because we don't ever remember Williams being used as a kickoff returner before.

-- That first series was some kind of ugly for the Dolphins, who had a run for no gain by Salvon Ahmed, followed by two incompletions by Bridgewater, one when rookie Erik Ezukanma couldn't make a very tough back-shoulder catch and the other when pressure forced a one-hopper.

-- Absolutely strange to see fifth-year tight end Mike Gesicki still in the game to start the second half.

-- If young punter Sterling Hofrichter was hoping to have any shot at beating out veteran Thomas Morstead, getting only 28 yards on his first punt wasn't the way to do it.

-- The Raiders took advantage of that short punt to pad their lead with a field goal, but the defense did a good job of limiting the damage thanks to a great open-field tackle by rookie linebacker Cameron Goode followed by a sack by rookie Ben Stille.

-- The Dolphins put together a good drive thanks to a nice throw to Erik Ezukanma while rolling to his left, though he later missed a similar throw while rolling to his right.

-- After getting to the Raiders 20-yard line, the Dolphins failed to score when they went for it on fourth-and-7 and Bridgewater was sacked when protection broke down too quickly. On third down, Bridgewater threw a pass in the end zone to Sanders, though it was unclear whether he dropped it or the Raiders defender got his hands on the ball.

-- For those wondering about going for it on fourth-and-7, do we really need to have Sanders kick a 38-yard field goal after his 6-for-6 start to the preseason?

-- The Dolphins gave up a 24-yard completion on their next defensive series when veteran Quincy Wilson failed to turn around and allowed tight end Jasper Horsted to make a contested catch.

-- Williams got a 4-yard return on the punt at the end of that possession, but fielding a punt at the 10-yard line in traffic might not have been the way to go there.

-- With Skylar Thompson taking over at QB at the end of the third quarter, Bridgewater's final stats were 10-for-20 for 119 yards with no touchdowns, no interceptions and a 68.5 passer rating. Let's call it a rather ho-hum outing.

DOLPHINS-RAIDERS FOURTH QUARTER

-- The connection between Thompson and Ezukanma was something to watch in the fourth quarter, as they hooked up for five passes. Big props to Ezukanma on the first one, a 34-yard gain when he cradled the ball with only his right hand after it him in the stomach while he was well covered downfield. The next two were absolute gems by Thompson, who threw the ball down the field over a deep-dropping defender.

-- Thompson's only incompletion of the night came on a low throw that Lynn Bowden Jr. failed to come up with. Bowden let the ball go through his hand and hit the ground, and he motioned to his teammates to hurry to go snap the ball after the officials initially ruled it a catch. The call was changed after the officials conferred.

-- Thompson finished off that drive with a really nice adjustment, eventually turning to his left to float a pass down the sideline to rookie running back Za'Quandre White for a 19-yard touchdown.

-- The Raiders' game-winning field goal drive was highlighted by the defense leaving a huge hole in the middle to allow QB Chase Garbers to scramble 28 yards. Channing Tindall then missed an open-field tackle that turned a short completion into a 16-yard gain.

-- Rookie Owen Carney Jr. sacked Garbers to force the Raiders to settle for a field goal, but that was the clear definition of a coverage sack.

-- Thompson's second and final drive was almost equal to the first, but there were two snap snafus, the first when Michael Deiter sent a shotgun snap before the QB was ready for it and the second when Thompson just dropped the ball after the exchange.

-- That drive ended with Sanders hitting the left upright on a 46-yard field goal attempt, his first miss of the preseason.

-- Had this been a regular season game, it would have been really disheartening to see the last chance to pull out a victory end by giving up a 36-yard run, which is what happened with the Dolphins on this night.