Extra points: Tua, Mac and 8 other thoughts from Dolphins’ season-opening win vs. Pats

The Miami Dolphins forced a fumble in the red zone with 3:31 remaining to pull out a 17-16 win against the New England Patriots in Foxborough, Massachusetts, to open the season Sunday. The win put the Dolphins in sole possession of first place in their division after one week of the 2021 NFL season.

Here are 10 thoughts on Miami’s one-point win at Gillette Stadium:

1. The defense came through when it mattered. This mostly applied to the final defensive stand, when the star cornerback Xavien Howard stripped Damien Harris at the Dolphins’ 9-yard line to preserve a one-point lead, but it was true of the whole game. Miami (1-0) forced four fumbles, came up with a pair of takeaways and held the Patriots (0-1) to just one touchdown on four trips into the red zone.

New England crossed the Dolphins’ 40 six times and settled for one touchdown, three field goals and the fumble in the final minutes. Even the touchdown only came after a questionable roughing-the-passer call on third down gave Mac Jones another chance inside the 10.

The defense is still Miami’s greatest strength and the biggest reason the Dolphins sit atop the American Football Conference East.

2. Tua Tagovailoa survives one abysmal decision. Miami’s defense only needed to come up with its final takeaway, though, because of one atrocious decision by Tagovailoa.

The Dolphins were trying to chew some clock and build on their one-point lead in the final nine minutes Sunday, so Tagovailoa dropped back on third-and-7, looking to move the chains. The Patriots blitzed and the offensive line couldn’t handle their four-man rush. Tagovailoa weaved around in the backfield to find time to throw, and eventually drifted to his right and heaved a pass for the right sideline as New England linebacker Matthew Judon decked him. The lefty’s throw didn’t quite make it out of bounds — he said he was trying to throw it away — and Patriots defensive back Jonathan Jones came down with an interception after it deflected off his hands and tight end Mike Gesicki’s.

After parts of last season were spent counting dropped interceptions for Tagovailoa, the quarterback largely limited his mistakes in the first game of his sophomore season, but this one was inexcusable and nearly cost Miami a road win.

3. Two excellent drives showcase Dolphins’ offensive potential. Tagovailoa was particularly good on Miami’s first drive of either half.

On his first drive in the first half, Tagovailoa went 4 of 4 for 49 yards and capped a 10-play, 80-yard drive with a 3-yard touchdown run. On his first in the second, the quarterback went 3 of 4 for 45 yards and capped a nine-play, 75-yard drive with a 3-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jaylen Waddle.

The two series were the Dolphins at their most creative and confident. On the first drive, Miami went no-huddle for its first third down and picked it up with a 15-yard run, then stuck with the no-huddle look for four of the final seven plays on the drive, including Tagovailoa’s touchdown. On the second-half opener, Tagovailoa took one of his best deep shots of the game, connecting with wide receiver DeVante Parker on a perfectly placed jump ball, and Miami successfully ran a pair of Wildcat plays inside the 10 before Tagovailoa’s touchdown pass to Waddle on a well-designed play-action rollout.

The Dolphins ran six no-huddle plays on those two drives and only one the rest of the game.

4. Tagovailoa’s better on deep throws, but far from perfect. Tagovailoa took six deep shots and connected on two of them — the 30-yard pass to Parker and a 36-yarder to Waddle in a jump-ball situation — all though one of the incomplete passes was dropped by Parker and another was broken up on a spectacular play by New England cornerback Jalen Mills. Tagovailoa rarely got these opportunities last year and it was good to see him take advantage a couple times.

Tagovailoa’s biggest issue was against the rush — he was 0 of 4 with an interception while under duress, according to ESPN — but he was solid when he had time to throw.

5. The Patriots have found their quarterback. The Dolphins clearly hoped Jones would be similarly rattled by pressure and their gambit paid off for a while. On his first career dropback, Jones threw a backward pass under pressure and lost 13 yards on a fumble. On his second, Miami hit him again to force a punt.

The Dolphins got to him twice more in the first half, including once on a sack wiped away by a questionable roughing-the-passer call, and Jones struggled with it. In the second half, he locked in, though, and finished 8 of 12 with a touchdown against pressure.

6. Waddle impresses in debut. The Dolphins’ first pick didn’t look half bad, either. Waddle was the target on Miami’s first offensive play and he hauled in a 17-yard catch, and it was only the start. The rookie finished with four catches for 61 yards and a touchdown, and trailed only Parker in targets. He had one costly third-down drop, but looks like he’ll be one of Tagovailoa’s favorite weapons this year.

7. Tagovailoa has some receivers. Waddle was part of a clear plan to upgrade Tagovailoa’s offensive weapons this offseason and now there won’t be any excuses for the 23-year-old. Waddle looks like he was worth a first-round pick, Parker was dangerous on both intermediate and deep routes, and the group should get even better next week when wide receiver Will Fuller V’s six-game suspension ends. Tight end Mike Gesicki will also certainly be better after he was shut out in Week 1.

8. He does not seem to have an offensive line — yet. It’s frankly hard to believe Tagovailoa was only under duress about four times. He was frequently leaving the pocket, took two sacks and rarely had room to step up into a throw. Miami had seven negative plays, not including two kneeldowns, and rookie Liam Eichenberg looked overwhelmed at left tackle. It should get better, though: The Dolphins activated tackle Austin Jackson from the COVID-19 list this weekend and he should start at left tackle next week.

9. The run defense struggled. Aside from Jones mostly outplaying Tagovailoa, the biggest area of concern for Miami in Week 1 has to be the run defense. Damien Harris busted a 35-yard run on the first play from scrimmage and Miami never figured out how to stop him. The New England running back ran for 100 yards on 23 carries and the Patriots averaged 4.2 yards per carry as a team.

10. The Dolphins really stole one. New England outgained Miami, 393-259, and went 11 of 16 on third downs. No matter: The Dolphins won because they won the turnover battle, committed only 28 yards in penalties to the Patriots’ 84 and bent, but seldom broke.

It’s a tough recipe to replicate, but it also fits with Brian Flores’ identity. The coach’s teams have been stout on defense and disciplined in the penalty area, and that was how Miami began its season with a road win against another team with playoff aspirations.