The Miami Dolphins dropped their season opener against the Las Vegas Raiders, falling 27-13 in Week 1 of the NFL season.
It was an uninspiring debut for new head coach Jeff Hafley. Miami had eight penalties and a pair of turnovers. The Raiders possessed the ball for nearly 10 more minutes than the Dolphins. Quarterback Malik Willis was under duress all day, with the Las Vegas defense recording 17 pressures and five sacks.
“We have to coach better, and we need to play better,” Hafley told reporters, including Omar Kelly of the Miami Herald. “We’ll watch the film, coach it really hard and get better.”
The Dolphins trailed by double digits early in the second quarter. A Riley Patterson field goal pulled Miami within a touchdown, but Ashton Jeanty caught a touchdown to push the Raiders’ lead back to two scores.
Malik Willis engineered a touchdown drive in the Dolphins’ first possession of the second half. The offense marched down the field after a Kirk Cousins interception. Willis capped off the drive with a 14-yard touchdown run. That would be it for the Miami offense.
Miami Dolphins Rookies Jacob Rodriguez and Chris Johnson Have Historic Debuts Against Las Vegas Raiders
With the offensive line struggling to protect Willis, the Dolphins managed just 259 total yards. The team went 2-for-10 on third-down conversions. Miami also failed on its only fourth-down attempt.
The positive from the two-touchdown loss was the defense. Miami’s unit held Cousins and company to just 4.3 yards per play. The defense picked off Cousins twice. One of those turnovers led to the Dolphins’ only touchdown.
Leading the way on defense were rookie linebacker Jacob Rodriguez and rookie cornerback Chris Johnson. Rodriguez racked up 14 tackles, and Johnson wasn’t too far behind with 11. It’s the first time in franchise history since the league began tracking the stat in 1994 that two Dolphins rookies had double-digit tackles in their debuts, per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.
Rodriguez, a second-round pick out of Texas Tech, put his name among a franchise legend with his performance. His 14 tackles were the most by a Dolphins rookie since Zach Thomas had 16 in a game in 1996. Thomas was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 2023.
Johnson Leads Encouraging Showing From Young Secondary
The Dolphins have an inexperienced group of safeties and cornerbacks. Johnson was the only one to play all 68 defensive snaps. He was crucial in stopping the run. Jeanty finished with 102 rushing yards, but it took him 23 carries to get there.
Second-year safety Dante Trader Jr. and rookie Michael Taaffe both recorded interceptions. The secondary held Cousins to a brutal 39.8 QBR.
Dolphins Rookies Make History Against Raiders