The Miami Dolphins came out in Chicago with an impressive first half, stretching to a13-0 lead courtesy of a Salvon Ahmed touchdown reception from Jacoby Brissett. But the highlights for the day ended there for the Dolphins, who slowly and steadily saw their lead whittle away to nothing as the teams got deeper and deeper into their depth charts.
Miami took a 13-3 lead into the half before the final clock struck all zeroes and the Dolphins down 20-13. Miami’s first preseason showcase offered plenty of reactions — what stood out the most?
A promising start for Tagovailoa; and a disappointing finish
Tua Tagovailoa looked crisp for the majority of the game; with him pushing the team down the field with some chunk plays and comfort in the pocket. The highlight was a long completion to Mike Gesicki, but several extended plays also popped for the young quarterback. But his final throw took points off the board for Miami as Tagovailoa came back late over the middle to TE Adam Shaheen in the end zone on a pass that was intercepted.
OT Austin Jackson struggled greatly
Miami needs former first-round pick Austin Jackson to take a step forward but this was not the first look that Miami needed. Jackson gave up penetration in the run game, pressure off the edge, got popped with a penalty and ended far too many plays on the ground. His reward? Miami kept him into the game through the end of the first half, well after most of the other starters were out.
The offense kept things close to the vest
The Dolphins offense didn’t have a great deal of their top pass catchers and it showed. Miami stayed in a lot of multi-tight end sets and looked at times like the group from last year. Reason to worry? Not exactly. The Dolphins aren’t going to benefit much from showing too much of their hand with new concepts in Week 1 of the preseason.