Dolphins QB Skylar Thompson had "rough" game, but it's something he's looking to build on

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Skylar Thompson did all the right things, said all the right things, as he prepared for a possible NFL debut.

And he surely believed he truly was ready to be thrown into a regular-season road game under the gun.

But can anyone, especially a rookie taken in the final round of the NFL Draft, really be prepared for what he faced Sunday at MetLife Stadium?

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The Dolphins were one offensive play into what turned out to be a 40-17 loss to the New York Jets when Thompson was summoned to take his first meaningful snap. Backup-turned-starter Teddy Bridgewater was sacked in the end zone and slammed the side of his head to the turf.

Once the booth spotter, an independent certified athletic trainer, detected a stumble, Bridgewater was ineligible to return and the Dolphins were reliving a nightmare surrounding their quarterbacks and head trauma.

Because Bridgewater was called for intentional grounding, which means an automatic safety, the Dolphins offense came off the field. As it turned out, that gave Thompson 2 minutes, 45 seconds to prepare for his first NFL snap.

"Kind of took me a little bit to settle in there, take a deep breath and just relax and trust the work I put in up to this point," Thompson said. "I kind of knew there was going to be a little bit of that whenever that time came. You got to start somewhere."

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Thompson's line is not something he won't have laminated and posted in the trophy case. Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel called it a "rough rookie outing" but added that is "not a cause of concern."

Entering the Dolphins' final series of the game. Thompson had throw for 90 yards (he added 76 on that final drive), which was five fewer than the Jets gifted Miami on three pass interference penalties. In all, he completed 57.5 percent of his passes (19 of 33) and added an interception.

Thompson honest in assessment of his play

"Didn't play well enough today, obviously starts with me," Thompson said. "There's a lot to learn from and grow from, which is the exciting part from my end."

Thompson was rightfully a bit overwhelmed considering the circumstances. He never had a chance to experience live regular-season action before walking on the field for his first snap, which by the way came with Miami pinned on its own 3-yard line.

In other words, the team's biggest surprise during the preseason — if there were a league MVP rewarded for the preseason Thompson would have been in the running — came into a near impossible situation

McDaniel, though, expected nothing less from his raw rookie. He said the "whole team" has confidence in Thompson and losing the game had nothing to do with the "team's response to losing Teddy."

And as far as dumbing down the game plan even further to accommodate the third string QB, McDaniel said, "maybe a couple of calls I really would have done a hair different" with Bridgewater in the game.

Tyreek Hill, who led Miami with seven catches and 47 yards, made sure to boost his young quarterback's confidence. This should be a strategy all week considering Thompson may be pressed into action again next Sunday.

"Not being able to get all of the practice reps, just come in play calling and stuff like that ... for a young quarterback, and for him to just step in the way he did is great," Hill said. "He's gonna be able to build off that confidence."

In a span that included the second quarter and first drive of the second half, Thompson led Miami on three scoring drives (two touchdowns and a field goal) but also threw his lone interception. Each time the drive started from the Dolphins' 25.

"There were times where it felt like it was slowing down, being able to see the defense, see what was going on, being able to make reads, put the ball where I wanted to," he said.

And the running game found a pulse for the first time this season, helping out the inexperienced quarterback. But that was part of the plan entering the game.

Dolphins lost left tackle Terron Armstead early

What didn't help was Miami losing left tackle Terron Armstead early in the game because of a toe injury, and some untimely drops. The most damaging was by reserve tight end Tanner Conner early in the fourth quarter that likely would have kept alive the drive in which Jason Sanders missed a potential go-ahead field goal from 54 yards.

Any hopes of the Dolphins pulling off another fourth-quarter rally ended there. The score went from 19-17 to 33-17 quicker than a Fireman Ed led chant of "J-E-T-S, Jets!, Jets!, Jets!"

And McDaniel was not happy about it.

"We got to figure that out because that's not acceptable and it really shouldn't have been as much of a momentum shift as it played out to be," McDaniel said.

Thompson contributed to the unraveling when his fumble deep in Miami territory led to the Jets scoring on one play. Thompson was hit from behind by Carl Lawson, who overwhelmed Mike Gesicki, the tight end not known for his blocking.

"My world has changed quite a bit in three weeks," Thompson said about the whirlwind that saw him inactive for the first three games of the season, the third-string QB entering Week 4, the backup entering Sunday - and suddenly the man.

"There's a lot to learn out there."

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Miami Dolphins turn to Skylar Thompson after Teddy Bridgewater hurt