Dolphins-Panthers Week 6 Five Biggest Storylines ... And How They Played Out

The Miami Dolphins continued their strong start to the 2023 season when they defeated the winless Carolina Panthers, 42-21, at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday.

Ahead of this interconference matchup, the result of the league's new "17th game," we highlighted the five biggest storylines, so now it's time to revisit those to see how they played out:

1. Will the Dolphins dominate another seemingly overmatched opponent?

Before the game: For a second consecutive game, the Dolphins will go in as double-digit favorites. Despite committing three turnovers (with a minus-3 turnover ratio), they never were threatened last week against the New York Giants as they improved to 5-0 since the start of the 2020 season when coming into a game favored by at least 10 points. The point spread in this one actually is even bigger, the result of the Panthers being the only winless team in the league. While there is the potential for the Dolphins looking ahead to their big Sunday night matchup at Philadelphia, this is a game the Dolphins clearly should win and take control of fairly quickly.

During the game: In the end, yes, though it certainly didn't start off that way as Carolina took a 14-0 lead late in the first quarter. But order was restored when the Dolphins scored 35 consecutive points and they eventually not only won but covered the point spread, just as they had against the Giants.

2. The Battle of Bama QBs

Before the game: This game marks the first of three in a row where Tua Tagovailoa will be facing a fellow former Alabama quarterback, with Bryce Young to be followed by Jalen Hurts and Mac Jones. The intriguing part of this one is that Young was the first overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft after the Panthers traded a bounty of draft picks to the Chicago Bears to land that No. 1 pick. Young isn't off to a great start statistically, but has shown enough that the folks in Carolina still are excited about his future and potential.

During the game: This always was going to be a tough matchup for Bryce Young because he's a rookie and because he doesn't have the talent around him that Tua has. Young had his moments, particularly in the early going and connecting with Adam Thielen, but his accuracy was a bit spotty, particularly whenever he tried deeper passes. Tua, meanwhile, had another great outing to add to his collection so far this season.

3. Liam and the O-line

Before the game: Former second-round pick Liam Eichenberg is going to be in the spotlight again as he gets his second start at center in place of injured starter Connor Williams. The offensive line didn't have a great performance in Eichenberg's first start, in Week 4 at Buffalo, though the caliber of the opposition has to be factored in when evaluating Eichenberg's less-than-stellar performance that day. This is a big spot for Eichenberg to prove he can be a dependable backup.

During the game: The Dolphins finished with 424 total yards, Raheem Mostert rushed for more than 100 yards and Tua wasn't sacked (or pressured very often), so it was mission accomplished for the offensive line. And at the center of it all, Eichenberg deserves credit for a big improvement over his first start of 2023.

4. Tyreek's Track and Fine Mess

Before the game: It's been an interesting start to the season for Tyreek Hill, to say the least. On the one hand, he's on pace to achieve his goal of becoming the first NFL player to reach 2,000 yards in a season (his pace is 2,213 yards) but on the other he keeps getting hit in the wallet with fine after fine. The issue there mostly has been about his socks and not wearing them properly (or at all), and then against the Giants he was fined for flashing a peace sign while on his way to the end zone on his 69-yard touchdown. Truth is, he'd probably be OK with the latter trend continuing if he keeps producing at his record pace. One thing to remember, though, is he's putting huge numbers in odd-numbered weeks this season (215, 157, 181 yards) but not so much in Weeks 2 and 4 (40 and 58). That's one trend he'd like to break.

During the game: It was more of the same all the way around for Hill, who had his fourth 150-yard receiving game in six weeks but also put himself in the NFL crosshairs by grabbing a photographer's cell phone and doing a backflip while filming himself. He was flagged for taunting initially before it was changed to unsportsmanlike conduct. Either way, he's likely to get slapped for another fine, though he said after the game he doesn't mind because he's having too much fun.

5. Ahmed in for Achane

Before the game: We have discussed for a while how Salvon Ahmed and De'Von Achane looked similar in training camp, but Achane really stood out when he got his opportunity, putting up crazy numbers and long runs on a regular basis. Now that he's out of action and on IR with a knee injury, Ahmed gets a chance to pick up where he left off in the preseason (when he was very impressive) as the new top backup to Raheem Mostert. A Carolina run defense that ranks in the bottom third in the NFL would seem to represent a good opportunity for Ahmed and the Dolphins running game to keep churning out yardage.

During the game: Ahmed did score the final touchdown of the game with a pretty nifty 9-yard run, but this wasn't the kind of performance we've seen from Achane in recent weeks — though, to be fair, circumstances change from game to game. That said, Ahmed never got the chance or was able to show the kind of ridiculous explosiveness we saw from Achane in his three full games. There's actually no shame in that, though, because it might be clear by now that Achane simply is special.

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