Dolphins-Chargers Week 6 Halftime Observations

Miami Dolphins defensive tackle Benito Jones (95) tackles Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (10) during the first quarter at Hard Rock Stadium. | Rich Storry-Imagn Images

What stood out in the first half of the Miami Dolphins' Week 6 game against the Los Angeles Chargers:

We'll start with the list of inactives, where the biggest news involved center Aaron Brewer not being on it after being listed as questionable on the final injury report of the week because of a pectoral injury. The other players made inactive because of injuries were LB Tyrel Dodson (concussion), DB Elijah Campbell (quad) and CB Storm Duck (ankle).

Running back Jaylen Wright was a healthy scratch for a second consecutive game, while rookie seventh-round pick Zeek Biggers is inactive for a fifth time in six games.

THE FIRST QUARTER

The Dolphins won the toss and decided to receive, a strategy that's all about gaining momentum right away. From this end, we always prefer getting the second-half kickoff because of the possibility of back-to-back possessions.

The special teams have been very good most of the season for the Dolphins, and so it was with Malik Washington's straight-ahead 45-yard return. That's the thing with Washington on returns or on offense: There isn't a lot of wasted movement.

The drive didn't last very long, though, because Tua Tagovailoa's first pass of the day was picked off by safety Tony Jefferson after it bounced off the hands of Jaylen Waddle over the middle. The pick appeared to be more about Waddle bobbling the ball, though it wasn't clear by television replays whether CB Tarheeb Still got his hands on the ball.

The first defensive series showed the Dolphins much tighter run defense, which was to be expected against the Chargers' third and fourth running back and an injury-depleted offensive line. Regardless, this was strong work on that first drive.

While we praised the special teams, they have had some bad penalties and Matthew Butler was the culprit this time when he made contact with the long-snapper on a 58-yard field goal after the snap with the player with his head down, which is a point of emphasis for officials.

The miscue didn't cost the Dolphins because they still held the Chargers to a field goal, thanks to a nice third-down stop where Jaelan Phillips flushed Justin Herbert out of the pocket and Minkah Fitzpatrick completed the play with blanket coverage across the field against Ladd McConkey.

The Dolphins' second possession was a bit ugly, lowlighted by Tua's overthrow to Darren Waller when he was open 15 yards downfield.

The Dolphins seem to have focused on punching the ball out in recent weeks, and while it backfired at times in run defense against Carolina, it paid off big time here with Rasul Douglas forcing an Oronde Gadsden II fumble.

It was part of big first quarter for Douglas, who also nailed Herbert on a blitz on an incomplete pass, then upended Kimani Vidal for a third-down stop that forced a field goal.

Great lead blocking by Cole Strange and Aaron Brewer allowed De'Von Achane to get to the outside untouched and his speed did the rest on his 49-yard touchdown run.

THE SECOND QUARTER

Another hiccup on special teams when Riley Patterson missed a 57-yard field goal attempt. That's not only three points the Dolphins don't get, but it gives the Chargers the ball at their 47 to start their next drive.

Of course, this was a drive that went sideways after it got to a second-and-8 from the LA 37 and it was pressure that made the difference. Tagovailoa threw the ball away on second down after he couldn't find anybody open and then Aaron Brewer was called for holding after a blitz left him with two defenders with a path to Tua.

The Chargers cashed in on the short field for a third field goal in the half after a 21-yard completion from Herbert to McConkey and a 19-yard run by Vidal.

McConkey beat Ethan Bonner on a deep crosser, with Bonner on the field instead of Jack Jones, who appears to have been benched after his penalty issues against Carolina.

On the Vidal run, Matthew Judon had a chance at a tackle at the line but couldn't disengage from the blocker quickly enough, one of the issues DC Anthony Weaver mentioned when talking about the run defense problems.

The next drive featured a third-down conversion on a Tua throw to Malik Washington and then a great timing connection downfield from Tua to Waddle for 19 yards.

The Dolphins defense had a nice stop after taking a 10-9 lead, thanks to some good pressure on Herbert and two false start penalties on the Chargers' backup tackles.

We heard a lot about Waddle juggling tennis balls this year and it sure paid off on that big 45-yard grab at the end of the first half.

That led to a last-play field goal that gave the Dolphins a 13-9 halftime lead.