The Miami Dolphins won their 5th straight game against the Chargers on Sunday afternoon in Miami. Tua is now 3-0 to start his NFL career, and continues to show his accuracy and smart decision-making. Here are the top headlines and takeaways from the Dolphins 29-21 win over the Chargers:
Salvon Ahmed
With Myles Gaskin, Matt Breida, Jordan Howard, and Lynn Bowden all out on Sunday, someone had to step up in the Dolphins running game. That “someone” was rookie RB Salvon Ahmed. The undrafted rookie from Washington earned himself an audition as the lead back after gaining 38 yards on seven rushes in a Week 9 win over the Cardinals, and he did not disappoint with the opportunity. Ahmed scored his first NFL TD on the Dolphins first offensive play of the game. It was a one-yard rushing touchdown that came after the Dolphins blocked a punt. In total, Ahmed rushed 21 times for 85 yards. His strong numbers against the Chargers leave him poised for another voluminous workload in a Week 11 battle against the Broncos.
Tua vs. Herbert
Herbert is currently the frontrunner for Offensive Rookie of the Year, and that leaves people thinking, “Should the Dolphins have drafted Justin Herbert over Tua?”. The simple answer is that it’s too early to tell. In three starts, Tua Tagovailoa has just as many wins as fellow rookies Joe Burrow (2) and Justin Herbert (1) combined. In the matchup where Tua and Herbert directly faced off against each other, Tua came out victorious. Tua Tagovailoa threw for 169 yards (15/25) and two touchdowns. On the other hand, Justin Herbert threw for 187 yards (20/32), with two touchdowns and an interception. Besides Tua coming out with the victory, he was much more accurate, efficient and productive.
Dolphins Defense
The Dolphins defense continues to be effective and productive. Heading into Sunday, the Dolphins defense has forced at least one turnover in the last 14 games, the second longest streak in the NFL. The streak continued when Xavien Howard grabbed his 5th interception of the season, tied for the league lead. Dolphins DE Emmanuel Ogbah also made a big impact, like Howard. Ogbah was signed this offseason as a Free Agent, coming from the Super Bowl Champs. He has been the best FA signing that the Dolphins could have possibly made. Ogbah has the most consecutive games with 1+ sack in the NFL (7), and continues to put pressure on QB’s.
Other Headline: Jason Sanders missed his first field goal of the season. This ends his streak of 22 straight made field goals.