Miami Dolphins Game 1 Instant Reaction
The Miami Dolphins did some good things in their season opener against the New England Patriots, but their inability to stop the Cam Newton-led running game proved the difference and kept them from recording a second consecutive victory at Gillette Stadium.
That New England would be more run-oriented with Newton at quarterback seemed like a given, but the Dolphins still had no answers.
Newton scored two rushing touchdowns and the Patriots finished the game with more than 200 rushing yards. That's a recipe for disaster every week.
More than anything, the problems in run defense featured an inability to contain the edge, with free agent acquisitions Shaq Lawson and Emmanuel Ogbah two of the biggest culprits.
The biggest play of the game was, of course, a New England run, and it was a keeper by Cam Newton on a fourth-and-1 from the Miami 5-yard line on the drive after the Dolphins had scored their first touchdown of the season to get within 14-11.
The Dolphins actually didn't come close to stopping Newton on the play, and Sony Michel scored on the next play.
Another difference in the game was the turnover battle, which New England won 3-1.
The three Dolphins turnovers came on Ryan Fitzpatrick interceptions, including the game-clincher after the two-minute warning. That last pick came with the Dolphins needing two scores to tie the game, so there was no reason to force anything because they already were in field goal range. It's fair to say, however, that there should have been defensive pass interference on that last end zone interception.
The second interception also was costly because the Dolphins appeared to ready to cut into New England's 7-3 lead late in the first half or even take the lead. This was the kind of mistake that has plagued Fitzpatrick at times his career.
The first pick came when Preston Williams couldn't make a cut because Stephon Gilmore got in his way and was at the spot where Fitzpatrick was throwing. Williams, however, did draw two pass-interference penalties on Gilmore in the second half, the first one a big part of the Dolphins' first touchdown drive of the season, which came courtesy of Jordan Howard on a 1-yard run.
The Dolphins' one takeaway was a turnover by wide receiver N'Keal Harry through the end zone as he appeared ready to score a touchdown that would have given New England a 21-3 lead.
That turnover was created by linebacker Jerome Baker, who was really, really active on defense.
Baker might have been the most impressive defensive player throughout the game, but only because Christian Wilkins was very quiet in the second half.
In the first half, Wilkins was nothing short of brilliant, coming up with a sack, a tackle for loss and a couple of passes batted down.
Another impressive performer was second-year running back Myles Gaskin, who led the Dolphins in rushing and contributed in the passing game.
Wide receiver DeVante Parker looked impressive in the first half, but then he was sidelined with a hamstring injury. That's obviously troublesome given Parker's injury history and the fact he dealt with that hamstring problem throughout training camp.
The much-talked-about offensive line overall was solid, if not special. The Dolphins allowed only one sack, that coming late in the game, and there was one holding penalty on guard Ereck Flowers.
It was, all in all, a decent performance by the Dolphins — certainly much better than what we saw in the 2019 season opener. But it also showed the Dolphins, though improved, still have a ways to go.
