Tua outplayed by his former backup
Who was the rookie quarterback? Miami’s Tua Tagovailoa might have led his team to the victory on Sunday, but he was outperformed by Jones, his understudy at Alabama, whom the Patriots selected in the first round of the 2021 draft. While Tagovailoa’s performance wasn’t bad (16 of 27 for 202 yards with one touchdown throw, one touchdown run and one interception), Jones had better poise in the pocket (maybe because he had a better O-line), and he read the Dolphins defense quickly and effectively. Miami needs Tagovailoa to look like Jones did in his first NFL start for the entire season.
Kyle Van Noy was a factor: Two key plays from former Dolphins starter Noy, who got dumped after one season by Miami, cost the Dolphins big time. Van Noy, who the Dolphins released in the offseason, allowing him to return to New England, had a sack in the first quarter and a tipped pass that negated a pass interference call that would have kept a second-quarter drive alive. He finished the game with three tackles and one sack while Brennan Scarlett, his replacement in Miami, contributed three tackles.
DeVante Parker shows up in opener:
Parker nursed a shoulder injury all training camp and the preseason, but the team’s leading receiver for the past two seasons showed up plenty against the Patriots, catching four passes for 81 yards. He caught a pair of crisp slants to deliver first downs, and a toe-tapper on the sidelines to get Miami into scoring territory in the first half. If Parker, who has annually struggled to stay healthy, delivers this type of production for 17 games, he’ll continue to be a focal point for opposing defenses.
Dolphins moved to .500 in their past 16 games against Patriots:
The Patriots fell to 8-8 against Miami since December 2013.
Mind you that, in that span, New England has been 79-26 (75.2 win percentage) in all other regular-season games and has won three Super Bowls. The Dolphins have been 50-56 (47.2) in all other regular-season games and has been 0-1 in the postseason. Through four coaching staffs, the Dolphins have been a thorn in Bill Belichick’s side.
The last time Dolphins opened the season with a road win against a divisional foe was …
more than a decade ago. In 2010, the third year of the Tony Sparano era, Miami traveled to Orchard Park and saw its defense dominate the first half, allowing only 57 yards to the Bills as the Dolphins grabbed a 10-3 lead. Chad Henne and the offense allowed the defense’s stellar effort to be enough as the quarterback didn’t turn the ball over and there were no Miami fumbles. The Dolphins held on to beat Buffalo, 15-10. Unfortunately, 2010 would be a second consecutive season where the Dolphins had a 7-6 record, only to lose the final three games.