Tagovailoa makes preseason debut, Dolphins fall to Raiders 15-13 | News, Sports, Jobs

Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa handles the ball in the first half of a pre-season game against the Raiders on Saturday. AP photos

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Tua Tagovailoa was on the field four hours before the game against the Raiders and visualized how the Dolphins’ offense would play out.

The Dolphins quarterback made his preseason debut Saturday night, playing in the first two series of Miami’s 15-13 loss to Las Vegas.

The Saint Louis School graduate of Ewa Beach, Oahu, played with most of his starters — though receiver Tyreek Hill didn’t play — and completed 6 of 8 passes for 58 yards.

“I was really happy with Tua because he had such a good camp, just in his development and possession on offense.” Mike McDaniel, Dolphins freshman year coach.

Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa smiles as he hugs his cousin, Raiders defensive end Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa, on the field after Saturday’s game.

Then, in the early afternoon, he was asked about Tagovailoa’s preparation for the game.

“That says it all” said McDaniel. “That’s why his teammates trust him. That’s why I trust him. That’s why his coaching staff is.”

Jarrett Stidham, who started as quarterback for the Raiders, completed 7 of 10 passes for 80 yards and was released once. He threw the Raiders’ only touchdown pass on the team’s opening drive.

The touchdown came from a 12-play, 75-yard drive that included passes for 14, 15, and 18 yards, topped by a 2-yard touchdown run by running back Zamir White, who had the No. 1 option of the Raiders could be backup starter Josh Jacobs. Jacobs didn’t play.

Tagovailoa didn’t lead a touchdown drive, but he connected with Durham Smythe at the tight end for a 10-yard gain on his first throw of the game and found Chase Edmonds back to hit a 17-yard throw on the next play. to make a profit. However, the Dolphins offense looked uneasy on the drive and had to punt.

“As an insult, you always want to go down and finish any ride that ends with a score. Obviously that wasn’t the case with the two drives we had.” said Tagovailoa. “We had a field goal but our job as an attacker is to go down and try to score points on the board.”

Acquired during the offseason, Edmonds showed just how important he could be on the Dolphins’ offense this season. He caught two passes on two targets for 21 yards and had just 3 rushing yards on three carries, but in his most impressive game he caught a short pass from Tagovailoa and knocked down a Raiders defender to convert in third place.

Tagovailoa looked comfortable and had the time he needed to make his throws, but Miami underperformed in the run game with its starters on the field. The Dolphins’ most prolific runner was backup Salvon Ahmed, who finished for 20 yards and five carries.

Veteran quarterback Teddy Bridgewater replaced Tagovailoa. On his first drive, he was penalized for intentionally touching down in the end zone, resulting in a safety.

Bridgewater also made some impressive throws, including a 26-yard completion for rookie receiver Erik Ezukanma.

Dolphins rookie quarterback Skylar Thompson, who impressed in his NFL debut last week, had another solid outing, throwing for more than 100 yards, including Miami’s only touchdown — a 19-yard connection with rookie ZaQuandre White in the fourth quarter ran back.

Nick Mullens replaced Stidham and was 6 of 9 for 39 yards. With the win, the Raiders entered the preseason 3-0.


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