Mike McDaniel won his head coaching debut. Tua Tagovailoa extended his unbeaten streak against the New England Patriots. Tyreek Hill was heavily involved in his first game with the Miami Dolphins. The defense made game-changing plays.
And the Dolphins start the 2022 season with a victory against the AFC East rival Patriots, topping New England, 20-7, in front of an announced attendance of 65,786 on Sunday afternoon at Hard Rock Stadium.
McDaniel earned his first win as a coach going against Bill Belichick, who is third on the NFL’s all-time wins list. Belichick’s plan to spend the week of practice in South Florida, at Palm Beach Atlantic University to get acclimated to the heat and humidity, ultimately was for naught.
McDaniel was showered with Gatorade by defensive linemen Christian Wilkins and Zach Sieler as he went into the locker room following the win.
“It was a very, very cool moment, against my wishes. They just showered me in Gatorade and made it about me, which I know for a fact it’s not,” McDaniel said. “But the team celebrated together, and just being happy for the direction that we’re going in.”
McDaniel didn’t soak in the emotions of a first career win. He was more concerned with every next step, whether it was finding Belichick for the postgame handshake or working up a message to his team in the locker room. That translated into his immediate focus on the next game, at the Baltimore Ravens.
“I wish all you had to do is win one game,” he said. “That’s not the case, so I’m kind of thinking about Week 2. Time for reflection will come on my own time, not other people’s. Right now people don’t need me to sit and think about my win-loss record. They need me to do my job.”
Tagovailoa, the Dolphins quarterback, is now 4-0 against New England as Miami extended its win streak over its division rival to four games. Tagovailoa has edged his former college backup at Alabama, Mac Jones, in all three of their professional meetings.
“It’s not an individual accolade,” Tagovailoa said. “It’s a team sport, and this team has won four games straight against New England. However way you see it, however way you put it, that’s what it is.”
Tagovailoa was 23 of 33 for 270 yards and a touchdown on a key fourth-down conversion to Jaylen Waddle at the end of the first half. Tagovailoa went without a turnover, avoiding multiple near interceptions and fumbles. He connected with Hill eight times as Hill had 94 yards receiving in his debut in Miami.
Jones was 21 of 30 for 213 yards, a touchdown and an interception. He also lost a key fumble that was recovered for a Miami touchdown as Jones made the key mistakes that Tagovailoa narrowly dodged.
Dolphins newly acquired edge defender Melvin Ingram made his first big splash in Miami, scooping up the Jones fumble near the goal line for an easy 2-yard touchdown in the middle of the second quarter to put the Dolphins up, 10-0. Brandon Jones, who led Miami with 11 tackles and added a pass deflection that was nearly intercepted, came in on a safety blitz that wasn’t picked up by the New England offensive line for the strip-sack on the Patriots quarterback.
It was one of several instances where the defense stepped up with a game-changing play.
“This is still the defense’s team until proven otherwise,” said McDaniel after an offseason where the revamped offense received much of the hype.
Miami went into the half leading, 17-0, after Waddle slipped through the New England defense for a 42-yard touchdown on fourth-and-7. Waddle caught the Tagovailoa pass beyond the first-down marker on a slant, and two Patriots defenders, including deep safety Kyle Dugger, collided in pursuit as Waddle broke free.
“It was a great ball,” Waddle said. “O-line held up good, great ball placement.”
The Patriots cut into their deficit with a long scoring drive to open the second half. New England went 15 plays for 92 yards, taking up 8:21 and capping the series with a throw to an open Ty Montgomery to the flat. Montgomery went to the ground to make the catch but had time to roll into the end zone with Jaelan Phillips chasing.
The New England scoring drive was extended on an incomplete pass on fourth-and-1 when cornerback Xavien Howard was called for illegal contact before a pass to ex-Dolphins receiver DeVante Parker to the end zone. Miami also had too many men on the field earlier in the series to give up a first down.
The Patriots squandered later chances to sneak closer with Dolphins undrafted rookie cornerback Kader Kohou contributing to major stops. First, Kohou broke up a fourth-down pass. Then, Kohou delivered a big hit on wide receiver Nelson Agholor that jarred the ball loose for a fumble that Phillips recovered.
“It was a great experience for my first NFL game,” said Kohou, the Ivory Coast native who played college football at Texas A&M-Commerce. “I was nervous before until I got out there and then it was just kind of filled in from there.”
Sunday started with the Patriots driving against the Dolphins defense, but Mac Jones decided to target Howard 1-on-1 against Parker. It didn’t go well for him that time as Howard broke up the pass, tipping it to safety Jevon Holland for an interception in the end zone.
Starting at the 28-yard line following Holland’s 31-yard interception return, the Dolphins drove into field-goal range but had a drive stall as Tagovailoa was stripped on a sack by New England’s Deatrich Wise, who broke through between center Connor Williams and right guard Robert Hunt. Miami recovered the fumble, and Jason Sanders converted a 43-yard field goal. Sanders also hit a 49-yarder to finish the third quarter.
Miami had to shuffle its offensive line multiple times due to injuries on Sunday. With Austin Jackson exiting at right tackle, Greg Little entered to back him up. Little then momentarily left the game, and left tackle Terron Armstead once went to the sideline. Each time, the guard on that side, either Robert Hunt or Liam Eichenberg, kicked out to tackle and Robert Jones entered at guard.
The Dolphins now hit the road for the first time this season, visiting the Baltimore Ravens in Week 2. It’s part of a challenging stretch in the first four games, with games against the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals to follow.
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