Dolphins Week 1 Instant Takeaways: Uneven Willis, Where Was the D-line?

If the Week 1 opponent represented one of the best opportunities for the Miami Dolphins to win a game in what figures to be a difficult season, what we saw at Allegiant Stadium was pretty sobering.

That the Dolphins lost against a team with a pretty bleak outlook itself in the Las Vegas Raiders was bad enough, but the manner in which it happened was pretty depressing.

The bottom line is the Dolphins were handled by a team that's not going to handle many opponents in 2026, dominated on both lines of scrimmage.

In a battle of young star running backs, Ashton Jeanty was able to shine for the Raiders, while De'Von Achane was bottled up pretty much all game.

There were a couple of highlights that included Malik Willis' 14-yard touchdown run, the longest by a Dolphins quarterback since the 2001 season finale when Jay Fiedler went 18 yards against the Buffalo Bills as well as interceptions by two of the rotating three safeties, Michael Taaffe and Dante Trader Jr.

But what it was more than anything was a pretty clear picture as to why the Dolphins are expected to struggle in 2026.

WHAT WE SAW FROM WILLIS

-- Willis' touchdown run alone was something about which to get excited, but in terms of his overall performance it resided somewhere in the middle and wasn't consistent enough. As a first impression, it's clear there's a lot to work with, but it's also clear we're a long way from being able to declare the Dolphins have their franchise quarterback.

-- If there was one thing everyone expected the Dolphins to be able to do well, it's run the ball, and that didn't come close to happening in this game. It instead was tough sledding all game for Achane, who outside of a nifty 10-yard run in the first quarter was bottled up all game.

-- The run blocking wasn't very impressive and the pass protection also was leaky, especially when it came to picking up twists and games up the middle, an issue that surfaced in the joint practice against the New York Giants. It also didn't help that Aaron Brewer was flagged twice and Patrick Paul once, though Paul's penalty came when he tried to compensate for Kadyn Proctor getting pushed back in the backfield.

-- There was a bright spot on special teams with Jaylen Wright's 79-yard return, which illustrated why many he should get most of those returns and Malik Washington be given the punt returns. But it overall was a mess on special teams, with a momentum-changing long kickoff return given up in the third quarter and Riley Patterson missing a 41-yard field goal attempt to spoil Wright's return. The Dolphins simply aren't good enough on offense or defense to be given up yards or points in the kicking game.

-- If we're looking for the most disappointing player of the game, it would be hard to find a most deserving candidate than Chop Robinson. The 2024 first-round pick was invisible and didn't get onto the stat sheet until the fourth quarter when he assisted on a stop on a running play. In terms of pass rush, zip, zilch, nothing.

-- Then again, nobody got a sack and we can count on one hand the number of times Kirk Cousins was even hurried a bit.

HIGHLIGHTS AND LOWLIGHTS

-- We liked Chris Johnson's willingness to get involved in tackling near the line of scrimmage.

-- Rookie wide receiver Caleb Douglas was the key player in the late field goal drive at the end of the first half, but it was disappointing that he had only one catch in the second half.

-- Those expecting Chris Bell to blow up from the start might have been disappointed with his one-catch outing, but we cautioned all along against expecting too much too soon.

-- Very active debut for rookie linebacker Jacob Rodriguez with his 14 tackles as he certainly didn't look out of place.

-- Outside of Zach Sieler coming up with two tackles for loss in the second half, it wasn't a good day for the big defensive linemen, and that goes for Jordan Phillips or Zeek Biggers.

-- Trader and Taaffe took advantage of two bad throws/decisions by Cousins, but the coverage in the secondary was pretty loose most of the game. The Dolphins do want to keep everything in front of them, but it has to get tigher or better quarterbacks will feast — particularly if the pass rush can't affect the QB.

-- Willis getting sacked five times probably wasn't on anybody's bingo card because of his mobility, but this is where he's going to have to become more decisive and start scrambling quicker as opposed to waiting for a receiver to get open.

-- It won't get any easier for the Dolphins next Sunday when they face the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium, but this always has been about the long game for Miami. And the first step will be for the team to get better and tougher in the trenches.

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