Perspective on what Dolphins’ Tagovailoa is doing and 20 notes, quotes, thoughts on win

Twenty notes, quotes and thoughts on the Dolphins’ 34-19 win against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium, a win that moves Miami to 4-6:

▪ You can worry about Tua Tagovailoa’s health, lament his uneven play against great defenses and yearn for a quarterback who’s more physically apt to sustain vicious hits, but Dolfans also should appreciate what they have in Tagovailoa, considering there’s no realistic alternative that’s nearly as appealing. Also consider the crapshoot nature of the draft, with as many first-round busts as great success stories.

On Sunday, Tagovailoa closed 28 for 36 for 288 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions and a 127.8 passer rating.

“We have the best quarterback in the world, man,” tight end Jonnu Smith said.

For perspective on what Tagovailoa has done in his four games since returning from the Sept. 12 concussion, consider:

He has seven touchdowns and one interception during that span.

He has completed 77.7 percent of his passes in those four games (101 for 130). (His 72.4 completion percentage for the season leads the league, topping Jared Goff’s 71.8.)

His 112.2 passer rating in those four games would be second in the league this season, behind only Lamar Jackson’s 123 rating entering Sunday.

The Dolphins have converted 60 percent of third-down attempts (29 for 48) since Tagovailoa returned, as the Dolphins’ Travis Wingfield noted.

Miami has scored on 21 of 32 possessions in the four games, including six of seven on Sunday. The Dolphins’ only drive that didn’t end in points started in the final minute of the first half, with no time to do much of anything.

Most importantly, the Dolphins have scored 27, 27, 23 and 34 points in the four games.

The key to their success?

“Not trying to force things if it’s not there,” Tagovailoa said.

“He has taken a gigantic step in his game,” coach Mike McDaniel said.

The only blemish? There was another fumble Sunday, giving him five fumbles since returning and 21 in 25 games. But Sunday’s fumble was recovered by the offense, and only one of the five since his return — and seven of the 21 — have been lost.

▪ This was the first game of the McDaniel era when the Dolphins didn’t have a punt or turn the ball over on downs or via a turnover, as Chris Kouffman noted on X.

▪ Biggest irritant Sunday? The inability to defend Raiders rookie tight end Brock Bowers, who looks like a future perennial Pro Bowler.

He had 13 catches for 126 yards, and the Dolphins should have used Jalen Ramsey or Jevon Holland more in coverage against him.

“I don’t like the coverage on him; too easy,” CBS’ Jay Feely said.

Here was the breakdown on Bowers’ damage against various Dolphins defenders:

Against linebacker Jordyn Brooks: 4 for 4, 37 yards

Against Ramsey: 3 for 3, 20 yards

Against Holland: 1 for 2, 10 yards

Against Kader Kohou: 1 for 1, 7 yards

Against Quinton Bell, 0 for 1, 0 yards

Against Calais Campbell, 0 for 1, 0 yards (a deflection)

Against Jordan Poyer: 2 for 2, 30 yards

Against Anthony Walker: 1 for 1, 14 yards

One catch wasn’t charged to a specific defender.

“Coming out of the draft,we were very high on him,” McDaniel said. “He will be a player everybody knows for years to come.”

▪ Though it seems like the Dolphins are consistently killed by tight ends, they actually entered having permitting the 11th-fewest yards per catch against tight ends and the eighth fewest first downs against tight ends, as ESPN’s Marcel Louis-Jacques noted.

▪ With six receptions for 101 yards on Sunday, Jonnu Smith — in 10 games — has surpassed the Dolphins’ total receiving yardage from tight ends last season.

Smith now has 448 yards receiving on 39 receptions this season, compared with 414 yards on 41 receptions for all Miami tight ends last season.

The Dolphins were the only team without a touchdown from a tight end last season. Smith has three.

“I know it was a great add by Chris Grier and the personnel department because of the skill with the ball in his hands,” McDaniel said of Smith. “He’s making defenses pay for the overattention Tyreek [Hill] and [Jaylen] Waddle are getting.”

On Sunday, Hill had seven catches for 61 yards (including a TD) and Waddle two for 37.

What happened on Smith’s game-sealing 57-yard TD catch, when he found himself all alone?

“The motion kind of messed up what they were trying to do,” Tagovailoa said, noting that Smith made a smart adjustment on the play.

▪ I like how the Dolphins are opening up competitions and playing the players who earn it. There are no sacred cows. It’s more of a meritocracy than it has been in recent years, as evidenced by the release of David Long Jr. and Julian Hill playing ahead of Durham Smythe all season.

The latest example: The Dolphins generally played undrafted cornerback Storm Duck ahead of former second-round pick Cam Smith on Sunday, though Smith got some work on defense.

▪ Benito Jones, who has had an erratic first season as a Dolphin, did a good job applying pressure on the quarterback, setting up a sack by Zach Sieler and forcing a Gardner Minshew incompletion.

▪ Center Aaron Brewer allowed his first sack of the season and committed a holding penalty later. But that doesn’t change the fact that Brewer — a very good run blocker — was a smart March pickup by Grier.

▪ After averaging more than 5 yards per carry during his first six games, Jaylen Wright has mustered just 8 yards on his last 10 carries over the past two weeks, including five rushes for 4 yards on Sunday.

Raheem Mostert, who didn’t get a carry against the Rams, lost 2 yards on his three carries.

▪ The Raiders’ 22-yard field goal with 45 seconds left before halftime marked the sixth time in 10 games that the Dolphins permitted an opposing field goal in the final minute of the first half.

De’Von Achane closed with 17 carries for 73 yards, and his 30-yard run was only the Dolphins’ fourth 20-plus yard run all season.

▪ CBS’ Bill Cowher warned viewers, at halftime, that the Dolphins “are a playoff contender. Look out for them to get on a roll.”

The Dolphins entered the 4 p.m. games just one game behind Denver (5-5) for the final wild card spot. The Broncos played Atlanta in the late afternoon window on Sunday.

If the Dolphins can seize a wild card, they will be the first team in 50 years to grab a wild card berth after starting 2-6. Two teams in the past five years (Washington and Jacksonville) won weak divisions after 2-6 starts.

▪ The Dolphins became the first team since 2016 to have two eight-minute drives to start the game.

The long drives prove “you know you’re diligently working at various things,” McDaniel said. “Last year, we had three drives that were 14-plus plays the entire year.”

On Sunday, the Dolphins had three such drives.

▪ CBS reported that one specialist recommended wrist surgery to Tyreek Hill, who told reporters last week that he won’t have surgery before the season ends, it at all.

▪ It was unusual to see cornerback Kader Kohou whiff on a tackle on Ameer Abdullah’s 10-yard TD catch-and-run in the fourth quarter. Kohou is typically one of the surest tacklers on the team.

▪ Right tackle Kendall Lamm allowed Maxx Crosby to get close to a sack but ultimately didn’t allow the Raiders All Pro to take Tagovailoa to the ground. Lamm, overall, did very good work Sunday, though the running game hasn’t been as effective since the loss of Austin Jackson to a season-ending knee injury. (Other factors also have contributed to that.) Crosby closed with five tackles but none for loss.

▪ Sieler’s sack gave him 13 in his last 25 games. Campbell’s sack gave him four for the season.

“Zach and Calais together do some really cool things working together, pass rush lanes, stunts and just bringing much needed juice,” McDaniel said. “They’re probably the heartbeat of our defense. Everybody plays off of that.”

They were at the epicenter of a Dolphins run defense that permitted just 60 yards on 3.8 per carry.

McDaniel joked that Sieler is “my binky. I don’t like going anywhere without him…. When we pray together in our locker room he sits next to me every single week.”

▪ Ramsey has rushed the quarterback 30 times this season and he has seven pressures and three pass deflections, including another one Sunday.

▪ With the Jets losing to the Colts and falling to 3-8, it reinforces what already should be clear: The Dolphins have a much better future than the Jets, presuming the Jets maintain their inability to find a young franchise quarterback.

▪ Linebacker Tyrel Dotson and tight end Jack Stoll were both active days after being claimed off waivers. The Stoll signing should push Julian Hill, who whiffed on one block but had two catches for 28 yards on Sunday.

▪ Walker had 10 tackles, giving him 29 in his first three games since replacing Long, who was released last week and went unclaimed on waivers.