Dolphins-Chargers Week 1 Five Biggest Storylines ... And How They Played

The Miami Dolphins kicked off their 2023 season with a 36-34 victory against the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium

The Miami Dolphins kicked off their 36-34 victory against the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium in Week 1, and before the game we examined the five biggest stories heading into the matchup.

Now it's time to revisit those to see how they played out.

1. Does the Miami Offense Have a Counter Move?

Before the game: The big story of the 2022 matchup at SoFi Stadium between these teams was how the Chargers defense found a way to stymie the Dolphins’ passing game by jamming wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle at the line of scrimmage, and Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel is too smart a guy to not have come up with counter moves if the Chargers want to employ the same tactics. Whether it’s a bigger emphasis on the running game, quicker throws around the line of scrimmage or featuring a different wide receiver (Braxton Berrios maybe?), what the Dolphins can come up with in terms of offensive game plan will be interesting to watch.

After the game: The Dolphins racked up 536 total yards, Tua Tagovailoa passed for 466 yards and Tyreek Hill had 215 receiving yards, so, yeah, it does look like the Dolphins found the counter move. Or maybe they just executed better than they did last December and the Chargers defense wasn't at the top of its game like it was in that game. Whatever it was, this time it was the Chargers who had no answer for what was happening with this matchup.

2. Fangio’s First Challenge

Before the game: Maybe the biggest reason for the optimism among Dolphins fans and some in the national media is the difference new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio can make with his scheme, the full extent of which we most definitely didn’t see in the preseason. Fangio is well known for disguising what his defense will do, for limiting big plays and for mixing things up. The Chargers presents a clear challenge, but if the Dolphins defense is to take a big step in 2023, it’s got a chance to showcase that potential right from the start.

After the game: This was a mixed bag because the Chargers also had over 400 yards of offense and they did score 34 points while converting 9 of 15 third-down situations. And the run defense that was such a strong point in 2022 really was a bad outing. But the pass defense overall was good, holding Justin Herbert to 228 passing yards. But, above and beyond anything else, the defense came up big when the game was on the line, getting two sacks and pressuring Herbert into an intentional grounding penalty on three of the final four snaps of the game.

3. Tua vs. Herbert, Part 3

Before the game: This will be third matchup between the fifth and sixth overall picks in the 2020 NFL draft, with each quarterback coming away with one victory (though wins and losses are no more a quarterback stat than a wide receiver or offensive lineman stat), and they always will be the focus whenever they face each other because of their draft connection. The winning quarterback in the two matchups was the one with the highest passer rating, though we have yet to have a good old-fashioned shootout. Nobody would complain if that’s what materialized Sunday afternoon.

After the game: We did have a shootout at SoFi Stadium in this game, but Tua was the one deliver the big blows for the Dolphins while Herbert took a back seat to his team's running game. And Tua kept coming up with answer after answer in one of the finest performances of his career. Tua hadn't passed for more than 200 yards in either of his first two matchups against the Chargers, but the 466-yard outing on this day was one for the ages.

4. Lamm on the line

Before the game: Terron Armstead being declared out for this game was the biggest news of the week ahead of the season opener, and it put Kendall Lamm directly in the spotlight. The Dolphins offensive line just flat-out wasn’t good at protecting the passer without Armstead last season, and Lamm probably faces the biggest challenge in this game — not only because of who he’s replacing but because he’s going against the Chargers’ best front seven defender, Joey Bosa.

After the game: As it turned out, the Chargers used Khalil Mack on the right side of their defensive formation, but he didn't perform any better than Bosa did on the other side against Austin Jackson. It was a tremendous by both Dolphins tackles, who each came into the game under a lot of scrutiny, albeit for different reasons. That Tua wasn't sacked at all on 45 pass attempts is pretty indicative of a great job in pass protection, and it's safe to say that Lamm passed this test with flying colors.

5. Wilkins watch

Before the game: Defensive tackle Christian Wilkins will begin the 2023 season without the contract extension he was seeking (to the point of conducting a “hold-in” during training camp), but he’s got a chance every game to make an even more convincing case he deserves the contract he wants. Wilkins had a lot of good games in 2023, but probably none better than the Sunday night game against the Chargers when he offered a dominant prime-time performance. A repeat would be a great way for Wilkins to start his “show me” campaign and would help the Dolphins greatly, and it would be even better if it included a sack or a couple of disruptive plays when Herbert goes back to pass.

After the game: It was hard to find many people on the Dolphins defense, if any, who had memorable performances against the Chargers and that certainly applied to Wilkins. After being dominant in the game last year, Wilkins pretty much was a non-factor in this one. Wilkins ended up being credited with three total tackles, fewer than in any game last season except for the Week 8 victory at Detroit. Wilkins did have one pressure that forced Herbert to scramble out of the pocket, but it simply wasn't the kind of game we saw regularly from Wilkins last season.
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