Dolphins Preseason Opener Instant Takeaways: Willis, Jonah, Depth, and More

The Miami Dolphins opened their 2026 preseason schedule against the Washington Commanders on Friday night, and more important than the final score were the lessons the game provided.

Among the big takeaways in the 20-7 loss at Northwest Stadium were strong performances by a lot of folks of the first-team offense but not enough from anybody else.

THE PERFECT START

After a borderline disastrous opening kickoff, the Dolphins' first-team offense put together a borderline perfect first drive.

It featured the ideal combination of run and pass, some good strong running by De'Von Achane, the highlight catch by rookie Caleb Douglas, and some very good work from the offensive line.

Now, it has to be pointed out that the Commanders rested a lot of their defensive starts, but the Dolphins couldn't control that. They could only control what they did, and it was pretty much flawless.

The only thing we didn't like was Willis almost getting yanked around in the open field at the end of a scramble, which comes with the territory but also doesn't need to happen for the Dolphins in a preseason game.

SAVAIINAEA SPOTLIGHT

We mentioned the good work of the first-team offensive line, and the one player who really looked like he stood out was second-year guard Jonah Savaiinaea.

Now, perhaps that was due to paying closer attention to him based on. his rookie struggles of 2025, but we spotted him moving out or neutralizing Washington defensive linemen like three or four times on that opening drive.

It's a small sample size and not against starters, but this was wildly encouraging for the Dolphins and the 2025 second-round pick.

DEPTH? WHAT DEPTH?

As good as the first-team offense was on that first drive, that's how bad the backups performed the rest of that first half.

And it was basically everybody on offense who looked bad to the point of not belonging on a 53-man roster.

What stood out perhaps most of all was the offensive line because the difference from the first group was jarring.

Now, that wasn't something that was totally unexpected because of what we've been witnessing in training camp, but it still was startling nonetheless.

Particularly disappointing was the performance of center Andrew Meyer. And the reason we're singling him out is because he was supposed to be one of the surest things among the backups and he simply was not that on that night.

The defense wasn't much better after the early going because Washington kept chewing up yardage while scoring 17 consecutive points.

The run defense, in particular, was pretty shoddy.

And then in the second half, receivers starting dropped passes from Cam Miller all over the place, with the culprits being D.J. Herman, Seydou Traore and Terrace Marshall Jr.

CONCERNS WITH QUINN

We're going closer and closer to having to have a serious conversation about Quinn Ewers because things just keep getting worse for the second-year quarterback.

It's not just the numbers that are ugly, it's the fact that so many passes are way off the mark, no more glaring an example than his first-half interception where it was very difficult to even gauge who the intended receiver might have been.

There also was a first-half pass intented for Tutu Atwell where it looked Ewers was expected Atwell to turn inside when instead he turned outside and the ball just landed harmlessly.

Whatever is going on, it's not great for the Dolphins, who right now don't look like they have a reliable backup for Willis.

MALIK (THE OTHER ONE) STILL THE MAN

While Caleb Douglas is the shiny new toy and clearly has a higher ceiling, that first drive should have served as a reminder not to dismiss Malik Washington.

It probably wasn't a coincidence that the first two offensive plays were passes from one Malik to the other because those two have hooked up quite a bit in training camp.

As usual, there was nothing spectacular about what Malik Washington did, just solid, dependable work and coming through when called upon.

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