HOUSTON — Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa saw his first game action since his 2022 season was cut short due to a concussion sustained Dec. 25.
And it didn’t quite start the way he would’ve hoped in the preseason exhibition against the Houston Texans on Saturday afternoon at NRG Stadium.
Tagovailoa was intercepted on his first throw Saturday, the first play from scrimmage. Texans linebacker Denzel Perryman, a Miami native, undercut the throw intended for tight end Tyler Kroft and returned it 19 yards to the Miami 7-yard line. Tagovailoa, after suffering multiple concussions last season, put his body in the way to get credited with the tackle, tripping up Perryman.
Tagovailoa was much better after that, however, as the Dolphins won, 28-3, in what appeared something close to a brief dress rehearsal for the regular season with many starters playing early.
After the Dolphins defense forced a turnover on downs to keep the Texans out of the end zone, Tagovailoa led a 14-play, 93-yard touchdown drive that was capped on the ground by a 2-yard score from running back Raheem Mostert.
Tagovailoa went 5 of 6 on the drive for 61 yards. He was 3 for 3 on third down, converting passes to tight end Durham Smythe, wide receiver Tyreek Hill and running back Salvon Ahmed. He got Miami inside the 10-yard line with a throw for another first down to receiver Braxton Berrios.
“It was awesome,” Tagovailoa said of being back in a game for the first time in 237 days. “You get all the feelings that you normally feel of getting back out there again: butterflies, anxious to get out there, all these thoughts going through your head.
“Things didn’t go our way. Adversity hit, and it was cool to see the guys respond.”
He simply called the interception a “bad play.”
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel actually liked that Tagovailoa had the mistake so early in his return to live action.
“It was so valuable because it was the first play. He came back, as I would expect,” McDaniel said. “That is exactly what preseason is for. That’s why you want somebody to play. I’m glad he got it out of the way. But, more importantly, the team didn’t blink.”
The quarterback didn’t have the same perspective on the error.
“It’s never good to do that,” Tagovailoa said. “It’s never good to turn the ball over. It’s never good to throw a pick. I’m not happy about it.”
Tagovailoa also took his first hit from the pocket. He threw incomplete as he was pushed to the ground by Houston defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins, and he was just fine. That, of course, after putting himself in harm’s way on the Perryman interception.
“It’s not if but when,” McDaniel said of Tagovailoa taking a hit in his return. “I wasn’t imagining that, on his first play, he was going to tackle somebody on it, but he’s as prepared as one can be. So, if I was surprised, I would have my eyes blindfolded and earplugs in my ears. That happens. It’s part of football.”
Added Tagovailoa: “It’s a physical sport. It’s tough. When out there, was expecting to get hit, was expecting to go to the ground, all of that.”
Those two possessions were all for Tagovailoa. After two series, he was replaced early in the second quarter by Skylar Thompson.
“He was leading us,” Hill said. “Obviously, we started out slow, but that second possession, he got us rolling, being that vocal leader for us. … It was great to see him back in a game after not being in a game since Christmas Day.”
The Dolphins ran for 205 yards as a team, with Ahmed’s 99 on 12 carries leading the way.
“The offensive line did an amazing job. The receivers out there making blocks,” Ahmed said. “There’s a lot that goes into it.”
The Miami defense held the Texans to 186 total yards. Houston went 2 for 12 on third downs, and rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud was 7 of 12 for 60 yards.
Thompson, who is competing in training camp for backup duties behind Tagovailoa with Mike White, went 15 of 22 for 157 yards and three touchdowns. He entered ahead of White after McDaniel said he would flip which one went in first, following White’s start in the preseason opener against the Atlanta Falcons.
It was a rebound for Thompson after he had three turnovers in a half in that first exhibition against Atlanta.
“Just not living in the past,” Thompson said of his mindset. “I just try to get stronger (when adversity hits) and not let it affect my confidence, affect my belief in myself. That’s all I did (Saturday).”
Thompson started off by throwing a strong deep ball to Cedrick Wilson Jr., that he couldn’t come up with, diving with a step on a defender. He then nearly lost a fumble on a strip-sack by Texans edge rusher and rookie first-round pick Will Anderson Jr. but recovered the loose ball.
Like Tagovailoa, Thompson’s second series got him rolling. It started when rookie running back De’Von Achane reeled off a 20-yard scamper up the middle on third-and-14. The second-year quarterback then converted a fourth-down pass to Wilson on a short out to the sideline to keep the drive alive before Thompson threw an 8-yard touchdown to Ahmed.
Ahmed exploded for a 65-yard run on the ensuing series before halftime, running through the left side. It set up an 18-yard touchdown pass from Thompson to Berrios, with the former University of Miami standout coming back on the sideline pass before diving into the end zone near the pylon.
Early in the third quarter, Thompson was sidelined for a few plays after getting driven to the ground by Texans defensive end Dylan Horton. White entered for him, but Thompson came back in.
On the same drive, Achane was evaluated on the sideline and then placed on a cart to get taken into the locker room. Achane finished with 27 rushing yards on six carries.
Dolphins offensive lineman Robert Jones was injured in the second quarter Saturday. He was evaluated in the medical tent on the sideline before being taken into the locker room for further examination.
Late in the third, undrafted rookie running back Chris Brooks scored on an 18-yard pass from Thompson to make it 28-3.
