Studs and duds from Dolphins' Week 1 loss to Raiders
The Miami Dolphins fell to the Las Vegas Raiders 27-13 on Sunday at Allegiant Stadium. Here's who had positive impacts and who struggled.
The Miami Dolphins traveled across the country to take on the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium on Sunday, and Jeff Hafley's team fell 27-13, dropping to 0-1 in his tenure as head coach.
Miami struggled to find consistency on offense, and their defense was put in bad positions several times, which led to Las Vegas ' win in the season opener.
As we break down this game, let's look at Miami's best performers and some of the worst players or aspects of their loss.
Miami's second-round pick was all over the place in his NFL debut. He finished with 14 total tackles, which is the second-most for any Dolphins rookie, behind only Zach Thomas, who recorded 16 against the Arizona Cardinals in 1996.
Everyone knew the Dolphins' pass rush was going to be a problem this year, and without someone opposite Chop Robinson , Las Vegas was able to negate him. Raiders quarterback Kirk Cousins was only hit a few times in this game, and he wasn't sacked at all.
While Miami's offensive attack lacked consistency, Douglas had a tremendous first game. Malik Willis targeted him seven times, and he hauled in five of them for 94 yards. This is a great start, and he should be able to build on this throughout his rookie year.
Miami's big men up front were a big issue on Sunday. They were called for multiple crucial penalties that put their offense behind the sticks. They also allowed Willis to get sacked five times, and it probably would've been more if he wasn't more mobile. They also failed to open up many holes for the running backs, as De'Von Achane and Jaylen Wright combined for 35 yards on 2.9 yards per attempt.
Sieler may not have popped on the stat sheet because he was double-teamed for a lot of the game, but he finished with three tackles, two of which were for a loss.
The Dolphins defense was set up with horrendous field position throughout this contest, as the special teams failed to limit returns. Las Vegas returned kicks for 45 yards and 50 yards. They also returned a punt for 23 yards.
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