If you’re the sort of person who believes that the first offensive play of the first preseason game sets the tone for the entire season, you’ve probably downgraded your expectations for the Dolphins.
Running back Lamar Miller lost the handle on a handoff from quarterback Ryan Tannehill and the Cowboys recovered the fumble to end the first Dolphins possession of the year in a flash. Tannehill and company would return for two more series, but the production didn’t really take off before the first-teamers headed to the bench for the evening. Tannehill, who finished 2-for-5 for 11 yards, said after the game that he hopes it was just a case of the Dolphins getting a bad one out of their system.
“It wasn’t our cleanest game or our best game,” Tannehill said, via James Walker of ESPN.com. “I’m glad we can get that one out of the way early. We have four more preseason games before we get into the regular season. So hopefully this was our sloppy game.”
The absence of Mike Wallace and Brian Hartline at wide receiver surely contributed to the slow start on Sunday, so it would be silly to read too much into any offensive struggles until or unless things look relatively similar when they’re at full strength. The Dolphins play again on Friday against the Jaguars.