The Miami Dolphins, on their opening drive, fumbled the ball twice, with the second time recovered by the Los Angeles Chargers at their six-yard line.
It appeared bleak to start.
Winning takes care of everything.
Tua Tagovailoa threw for 466 yards, the fourth most in an opener, and three touchdowns. It was a back-and-forth scoring affair; however, the Dolphins edged out the Chargers 36-34.
“I am proud of our guys overall,” Tagovailoa said. “There are many things that did not go right, but no one blinked.”
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In a game that saw two ties and nine lead changes, Tagovailoa’s 4-yard throw to Tyreek Hill in the right corner of the end zone with 1:45 remaining put the Dolphins ahead to stay.
“I’m glad that we started with this game,” Hill said. “Last year, those guys did a great job of pressing us. So I feel like this year, like I’ve been saying, we had a chance to go back and get a full understanding of the offense. And you see that the results were different.”
Hill, who said during training camp he wanted to be the first receiver to reach 2,000 yards in a season, got off to a great start. He had 215 yards — the third-best total in Week 1 in league history — on 11 receptions and two touchdowns.
The “Tua to Cheetah” connection was lights out in week one for Miami.
Miami had nine plays of at least 21 yards. Those included Hill’s 35-yard score late in the third quarter to put the Dolphins up 27-24.
Dolphins run defense was horrendous. New defensive coordinator Vic Fangio has some things he must figure out for the run defense. Chargers rushed for 234 yards and three touchdowns, the fourth time since the team moved to Los Angeles in 2017 that it has exceeded 200 yards on the ground.
Austin Ekeler had 117 yards and a score, the fourth 100-yard game of his seven-year career. Joshua Kelley added 91 yards and had a 2-yard touchdown run a minute into the fourth quarter to make it 31-27.
Chargers averaged nearly 6 yards per rush.
Tagovailoa’s 466 passing yards were the most allowed by the Chargers, and Miami’s 536 yards of offense is the most the franchise has yielded in an opener.
Tagovailoa outplayed Justin Herbert. He finished 23 for 33 for 228 yards with two touchdowns (one passing, one rushing) for the Chargers.
It was a clutch win for the Miami Dolphins.
Tagovailoa played one of the best games in Dolphins history at quarterback. Hill was incredible, and Dolphins defense came up big in the game’s final minutes.
Year two of Tagovailoa and Hill is off to a fantastic start. This offense is perfect for both of them to continue to succeed.
You have to respect how Hill is always able to get open. He finds a way and is a tough receiver for defenses to cover. Mike McDaniel and the rest of the offensive coaches deserve credit, also. The offensive line contained Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack, to name a few. Kendall Lamm filled in for Terron Armstead, giving Tua the time he needed to get the ball downfield.
Zero sacks for Tagovailoa and the Dolphins offense.
The defense will play better as the season goes on. The defensive players are still getting accustomed to his scheme and coaching style. Fangio is still learning about his personnel. Week one was about the offense. The defense is talented and will improve.
The Dolphins visit the New England Patriots on Sunday night.
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