Pressure Point: Feel-good win, but Dolphins need more from Tua, offense

The Dolphins’ 20-7 thumping of the Patriots in the season opener was about as satisfying as a Dolfan could hope for, given the years of abuse by Bill Belichick’s teams.

At the same time it left a lot of room for improvement if Miami is going to contend with the latest beast of the AFC East from Buffalo.

First, celebrate all the good cheer in new coach Mike McDaniel’s debut victory — jitterbugs Tyreek Hill and Jalen Waddle dancing around and through the New England defense and showing how much fun this offense can be; the big-play Dolphins defense, which produced three turnovers.

Most assuredly, too, for the numbers Tua Tagovailoa put up: 23 of 33 for 270 yards, a touchdown, no interceptions and a 104.4 passer rating. And for that in-stride dime he threaded between three defenders to Waddle for a 42-yard game-changer TD on McDaniel’s gutsy fourth-down call just before the half.

They say you are what your record says you are, and as the CBS graphic showed, Tagovailoa joined John Elway as the only quarterbacks with a 4-0 mark against Belichick.

More from Five Reasons Sports: Five takeaways from the Dolphins’ win

4th and 7 tua to waddle for the touchdown!!!!! pic.twitter.com/SSgcCo08LS

— josh houtz (@houtz) September 11, 2022

Tougher challenge ahead for Dolphins

Hate to toss the big but into the fifth win in the past six meetings with the Patriots at Hard Rock Stadium, but Tua’s performance didn’t leave me feeling all that comfortable about next week at Baltimore and certainly not for the Bills’ visit to South Florida the following week.

For all of the retooling of the offensive line and addition of skilled veteran backs and receivers, the running game was still nonexistent and the offense managed only one touchdown and 13 points. More will be needed against Lamar Jackson and the Ravens and Josh Allen and the Bills.

I’ve been supportive of Tagovailoa for the most part and hopeful he blossoms into a top-tier quarterback as expected of one picked No. 5 overall in the draft. He was operating under difficult circumstances his first two years.

Given the backing he now has from McDaniel and the front office and the assortment of playmakers to work with, I expected to see more growth from Tua than he showed Sunday.

Plenty of room for improvement

Too many of Tua’s passes lacked the needed zip to get to his receivers. He has trouble throwing to his right. Overall he wasn’t as accurate as we’ve seen in the past.

And some of his decision-making, particularly in the fourth quarter, was flat-out frightening.

On one series when the Dolphins were trying to maintain a clock-killing drive, he threw a near-interception — the defender dropped it — and had a near-fumble. Earlier, Hill took another potential interception away from Devin McCourty for a 26-yard gain.

But Tua threw a nice ball to Waddle on a comeback route for a first down and then hooked up with Waddle for the touchdown that was the defining image from the game.

So I expected something like this. Not BAD in any way. Tua is a decent starter. Better than a lot of starters

But if he can’t have more success downfield then this offense won’t reach its potential. pic.twitter.com/zCeOcNzIYR

— Valley Boys Sports (@VBSofficial_) September 11, 2022

Fourth-down TD made Dolphins’ day

That it came on fourth down to give Miami a 17-0 halftime lead made the day for Tua, Waddle and McDaniel.

Hill put it in perspective, saying, “McDaniel’s gonna need a wheel barrow for his nuts, to carry them around. He’s got a lot of cajones, you know what I’m saying? So, gutsy call by him.”

There was certainly a lot to feel good about, especially on defense. Brandon Jones clobbered Mac Jones on a blind-side blitz to force a fumble and veteran newcomer Melvin Ingram scooped it off the hop for the touchdown.

Undrafted rookie cornerback Kader Kohou had an impressive debut, creating another fumble and breaking up a fourth-down pass.

On offense, Hill was as much fun as anticipated, scampering for 94 yards on eight receptions.

So there was a lot to feel good about Sunday, as is the case any time the Dolphins thrash the Patriots.

They will need to be much better in the weeks ahead.

Craig Davis has covered South Florida sports and teams, including the Dolphins, for four decades. Follow him on Twitter @CraigDavisRuns