I wasn't able to watch the game live due to being at a family get together and instead of having a football game on TV, we were watching a tow service guy on YouTube. So, a lot of what I am basing this off of is highlights, box scores, and insiders/beat writers. I will try and watch the game tape later on this week.
1. The Rookies Showed Out
A lot of our bright spots of the game came from rookies. Caleb Douglas broke the Dolphins record for most receiving yards by a rookie in their debut, and had the best performance by a rookie WR this week by far. Jacob Rodriguez had by far the most tackles by either team. Chris Johnson was absolutely being bullied in his first NFL game, but I think he was able to handle himself pretty well due to the circumstances with two pass deflections and a TFL. Michael Taaffe got an interception right off the bat. Chris Bell had a good reception, especially for someone coming off an ACL earlier than expected. This is a really good sign and very promising not just heading into the next week, but the next week after and after that and the whole season and then the next season as well. The rookies making instant impact is exactly a great thing to see and what we need in this rebuild year.
2. Is It Malik's Fault Or The Offensive Line?
This is a really confusing one for me since I have not watched it in full yet, and it seems everyone is split on this so it really does create a good question mark for the rest of the season. Something that I have felt strong about for years was that both Ryan Tannehill and Tua Tagovailoa did not fail the Dolphins, but the GM/HC/OC/OL coach failed them for not construction a better OL for their pocket passing QB which culminated in numerous injuries for both of them that eventually hindered and regressed them during their end at Miami. I felt like this season was different with a new GM, new HC, new OC, new OL coach all coming in and being committed in constructing a better OL, and we had a top 15 OL last season as well. Everything seemed on the up in the front, and we are bringing in a dual threat QB as well who is more mobile to run away and avoid a sack so we aren't tied too much into building an elite OL right away. This season really deflated me. 5 sacks allowed. That sounds bad, but again, he is a dual threat QB and he had every chance to run away and just avoid a sack. It appears from what I have seen that he held onto the ball far too long which cost the game multiple times. This is just one game and we have 16 more to go, but this needs to be something to be addressed immediately before it costs his job or even results in a serious injury for Willis.
3. Chop Robinson Is On Bust Watch
I already said we have a weak edge room, and I expected with Jaelan Phillips almost a year removed from playing his last snaps as a Dolphin and Bradley Chubb gone that it opens the room for Chop to return to the last eight games of his rookie season and solidify him as the best edge rusher in the AFC East, but he never did. He was completely missing from the game and it appears he treated it as a cardio game. I know it was just one game, but there was so much high expectations and pressure for him to succeed as a former 1st round pick we drafted in 2024 that it is just hard to trust him as we head towards a back to back title contender opponents in San Francisco and Kansas City. The Raiders OL has improved, but there was no reason that it should lead to no sacks whatsoever.
Those are my three takeaways I have. Let me know your thoughts!