Gesicki, Bowden Jr. Sparks of Miami's Offense in Preseason Opening Loss -

Miami Dolphins fans, rejoice – football is back! Sad Disclaimer: it is only preseason. But fear not football fans, because the preseason is for the rookies and to learn the team’s depth.

Because this is preseason, neither Miami’s nor its opponent, the Chicago Bears, had all of their first-string players in the game. And the No. 1’s who did play, did not play for long.

Tua and the Flippy-fins

Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa kicked off the game with a couple of nice long throws, and a 50-yard bomb to tight end Mike Gesicki that made highlight reels all weekend. Instead of going for the end zone on fourth down, the Dolphins’ drive ended with a failed touchdown and settled for a field goal from kicker Jason Sanders. This game Sanders and Miami an early 3-0 lead.

After a good number of decent throws and successful ball movement, Tagovailoa picked up his first interception of preseason. On a pass intended for TE Adam Shaheen, Tagovailoa tried to do too much and Shaheen, the only captain in the game, was a step behind moving up to come get the ball, resulting in the turnover.

The drive ended Tagovailoa’s day. He finished 8-for-11 with 99 yards and the one interception.

Jacoby Brissett Makes Dolphins Debut, Reid Sinnett also Sees Field

The next couple of series belonged to veteran backup Jacoby Brissett. He had a couple of nice throws, and even threw in the only TD that Miami had on the day. He connected on a 23-yard dime to running back Salvon Ahmed. This increased the Dolphins’ lead to 13-0.

Brissett finished his Miami debut 6-for-10 with 67 yards and one TD.

Finishing off the game was No. 3 QB Reid Sinnett. He had a stumbling campaign that saw a close call when it came to ball security and the inability to find the end zone. He fumbled a throw, but regained possession, before finishing the day 6-for-10 for 51 yards.

Overall, the QB group did alright. It is clear they need to mesh a little bit more with each other and the offense to get into a rhythm. But, it is only the first game back of the preseason, so fans can take these performances with a grain of salt.

Running into a Jumbled Mess

Going and taking the ground pound approach seemed to have been used by almost every running back on the Dolphins current depth chart. Ahmed led the pack of rushers with six carries for 40 yards, averaging approximately seven yards per carry. His day was bolstered by an explosive 20-yard run.

Myles Gaskin, who is expected to be Miami’s No. 1 when the season begins, was eased into the repetitions in an attempt to avoid injury. He had four carries for 19 yards, with his own explosive 14-yard run. Patrick Laird ended the game with three carries for 12 yards and Malcolm Brown, who is rumored to be the team’s No. 2 by the time the regular season rolls around, had a disappointing start. He had the most carries of anyone, nine, but finished with just eight yards. He also saw numerous stuffs and plays with negative net yards.

“We had a head on the hat when we did we got good yardage. When we didn’t, they were in the back field, and they had a couple of plays that were some negative plays,” Miami head coach Brian Flores said. “I thought we over came some negative plays and some penalties in the game. But at the end of the day we didn’t finish the drives well enough, which I think we’ll learn from. I think our guys understand the importance of that.”

Ep 161: Lions Dissapoint; NFL MVP; Week 12 Discussion
by Full Press Coverage on November 27, 2023 at 12:12 am

MORE PODCASTS From FPC

Overall this was a mixed bag because the supposed No. 2 did not do so hot, even though he had the most carries, and the No. 3 did the best. This is slowly becoming a fight between Brown and Ahmed for backup duties in South Beach.

Ah-Med Sorry I’m Ge-Sicki

Sorry for the bad pun, but it’s time to talk about the receiving game, including both the wide receiver and tight end positions. Gesicki was the Dolphins’ leading receiver, catching both of his targets for 56 yards, including the 50-yard bomb aforementioned.

Surprisingly, RB/WR flex player Lynn Bowden Jr. has been making some noise early on. He led the team in targets (five) and receptions (four), finishing with 47 yards. WRs Mack Hollins and Isaiah Ford, who are fighting for a roster spot, caught both of their targets for 20 and 13 yards respectively. Additionally, TE Chris Myarick, who is too fighting for a roster spot, caught his lone target for 14 yards.

Brown, Gaskin, Shaheen and TE Carl Tucker all caught passes for less than 10 yards so it’s worth mentioning because they played a part, but were mostly non-existent.

All in all, all Dolphin receivers finished with a combined 217 total yards. It’s important to note that the projected three starting wideouts, DeVante Parker, Will Fuller V and Jaylen Waddle either did not dress or see action in the receiving game on Saturday.

However, Miami did not pick up the preseason opening win despite going up 13-0.

“I thought we did some good things, executed in some instances, didn’t execute in some other instances. I thought we played well defensively, got off the field, played well in the kicking game,” Flores said.

Bears Score 20 Unanswered to Beat Fins

Chicago would score 20 unanswered points behind rookie Justin Fields’ NFL preseason debut.

The Dolphins defense originally limited the Bears to 79 yards on 21 plays in the first half with five straight three-and-outs to begin the game, but the team all around couldn’t hold.

Chicago kicker Cairo Santos tacked on a 53-yard field goal with two seconds remaining in the first half to cut Miami’s lead to 10.

The Bears, behind Fields, added two third-quarter TDs to take their first lead of the game, 17-13. Fields scrambled in from eight yards out and also found newly-signed TE Jesse James for a 30-yard score on blown defensive coverage.

After tacking on a field goal in the fourth quarter, Chicago took the preseason opening victory.

Kayla Morton contributed to this article.

– Alessandro Senatore is a Sports Contributor for Full Press Coverage Miami Dolphins who specializes in the NFL Draft and fantasy sports. Like and follow on Follow @AM_Senatore Follow @FPC_Dolphins and Facebook.