Nathan Ray Seebeck - USA Today Sports
Dolphins Win Preseason Opener; Trill Injured Late
The Miami Dolphins eked out a 26-24 victory against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the teams' preseason opener when kicker Jose Borregales missed a 49-yard field goal attempt on the final play, but what happened earlier on that final drive put a damper on the victory.
Cornerback Trill Williams, who has been making quite an impression in his second NFL training camp, sustained an ominous-looking knee injury while tackling Tampa Bay wide receiver Deven Thompkins for a 5-yard loss.
Williams' left leg appeared to get caught under Thompkins while he made the tackle in the open field and then punched the ground while on his stomach before walking gingerly off the field.
The Dolphins can only hope the result here is similar to what happened with Jets starting quarterback Zach Wilson, whose scary-looking knee injury Friday night turned out to be a much less significant deal.
THOMPSON, SANDERS STAR FOR DOLPHINS
On a night when the Dolphins sat out more than 20 players, including starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill and Terron Armstead, rookie quarterback Skylar Thompson and kicker Jason Sanders played starring roles.
Thompson completed 20 of 28 passes for 218 yards, including a 22-yard touchdown to Lynn Bowden Jr., and finished with a 106.0 passer rating. He also had a 21-yard scramble in the second half.
Sanders, whose career has seen him shine in even-numbered years and not do nearly as well in odd-numbered season, started things off on the right foot, going 4-for-4 on field goal attempts with kicks of 33, 52, 23 and 53 yards.
The other Dolphins touchdown came courtesy of the Dolphins, with Sam Eguavoen returning a fumble 33 yards after Darius Hodge sacked Tampa Bay quarterback Kyle Trask.
The Buccaneers ruled out 29 players about 90 minutes before kickoff, including quarterback Tom Brady, who's away from the team for about 10 days.
With Blaine Gabbert and Trask running the offense, the Buccaneers compiled 389 yards to the Dolphins' 242.
The Dolphins offense managed 242 total yards and had three field goal drives end with third-down sacks allowed.
Two touchdowns in a 29-second span in the second quarter turned a 14-6 Dolphins deficit into a 23-14 lead.
The first was Bowden's score, which came on the play immediately after Elijah Campbell intercepted Trask when he stole the ball away from a Tampa Bay receiver.
Three plays later, Eguaoven scored his touchdown.
Bowden added a 29-yard reception early in the third quarter, while Trent Sherfield had the biggest gain on offense for the Dolphins with a 33-yard reception in the second quarter.
The Dolphins will continue their preseason against the Las Vegas Raiders at Hard Rock Stadium next Saturday at 7 p.m. ET.
