Pressure Point: Tagovailoa’s woes among many concerns in Dolphins’ disastrous opener

What. A. Dolphins. Disaster.

What went wrong for the Miami Dolphins in the season opener at Indianapolis?

Let us count the ways. Actually, easier to simply say, everything. Absolutely everything in a horrific 33-8 undressing by the Colts.

Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill summed it up perfectly: “This was a big kick in the balls for us.”

It is one thing to go on the road and lose on opening day. That’s not surprising in the NFL.

But when every single offseason concern is not only confirmed but magnified, red flags about what lies ahead for this team in this season meld together like a crimson tsunami.

Secondary — oof! Offensive line — ouch! Run defense — gulp!

To make the situation more painful, guard James Daniels, the veteran addition to the o-line, lasted only three plays before leaving with a pectoral injury. Storm Duck, who was Miami’s top cornerback through attrition, left on a cart with a leg injury in the second quarter.

Even the Miami pass rush, which was supposed to be a strength, didn’t materialize.

One of Tua Tagovailoa’s worst performances

As for the quarterback play, it was simply one of the worst performances of Tua Tagovailoa’s career, punctuated by two interceptions and a fumble that the Colts turned into 17 points.

It began with the Dolphins’ first three possessions of the season ending in: interception, fumble (by Tua), punt, that led to a 20-0 deficit at the half.

Oh, by the way, Xavien Howard, who used to the Dolphins’ best cornerback, recovered Tua’s fumble to announce his presence in his first game for the Colts.

The Colts, at the intermission, had 255 yards of offense to 43 for Miami. They had a 17-3 advantage in first downs.

Those numbers illustrate that the Dolphins were not competitive on the one day when everyone starts on equal footing.

It didn’t get better for Miami. Tagovailoa threw his second interception of the game on the first possession of the second half and it was promptly 23-0.

Keep in mind, the Colts had not won as opening game since 2013. Their 0-10-1 mark since then was the second-longest drought in openers in NFL history. They haven’t been to the playoffs in four seasons.

Tua had the worst game I’ve seen him have in quite a while and it makes me wonder if the cumulation of injuries and concussions have sped him toward decline. We’ve generally feared it would be sudden- one more bad hit and it’s over. But it could also be more gradual than that.

— Chris Kouffman (@ckparrot) September 7, 2025

Dolphins fans have reason to fear the worst

Understandably, by halftime Dolphins fans were tossing deck chairs off the Titanic. The popular chorus of “Fire everyone!!!” was in full scream mode.

Can’t blame them. They weren’t reacting to one bad half of football, but rather to decades of futility.

Granted, dramatic swings in performance from week to week are common in the league. If you want to give the Dolphins the benefit of the doubt, the next three weeks, against the Patriots, Bills and Jets, will show how they match up in the AFC East. The first two will come in a span of 11 days.

I don’t want to overreact to one half of football, but the Dolphins need to:

• Fire Chris Grier
• Fire Mike McDaniel
• Trade Tyreek for picks
• Start scouting the 2026 QB draft class
• Burn it all to the fucking ground and fully commit to tanking

— Joe Osborne (@JTFOz) September 7, 2025

Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel pointed to a litany of mistakes as the reason for the embarrassing performance at Indy.

“It’s a young team having to learn some very hard lessons,” he said. “It’s all about the ebbs and flows. You can’t overcook a success and you can’t overcook a failure. You have to learn from things.”

He is peddling the notion of a quick fix.

The view from here is that an already suspect roster looked more problematic than expected.

Dolphins pushed around by Colts

What happened to the emphasis on being more physical and winning the battles in the trenches? The Colts mauled the Dolphins and tossed them aside with ease.

A number of Dolphins spent time in the blue injury tent on the sideline, though some did return.

It was a stunning physical mismatch that left few positives to point to from a Dolphins point of view.

What concerned me most was Tagovailoa. Now in his sixth season, we’ve been hearing about a new Tua, in command, more assertive, ready to lead the way to success.

To be sure, this was a different Tua, but not in a good way. I can’t recall him playing so poorly in a game that wasn’t against the Bills or in freezing weather.

This was played in balmy conditions and matched with Daniel Jones, who seemed to channel Peyton Manning in assertiveness and precise execution in his Colts debut.

I covered a game in Indy that the Dolphins lost 41-0 and Jimmy Johnson tripped over a microphone in the interview room and this is worse

— Five Reasons Sports 🏀🏈⚾️🏒⚽️ (@5ReasonsSports) September 7, 2025

Tyreek Hill exhibits frustration

Meanwhile, the Dolphins’ passing game was tentative and out of sync all afternoon.

A couple days before the opener, Tua had a message for Dolfans on social media. His post: “Time to show them who I am.”

If this is who he is at this point in his career, the franchise is in worse shape than many fans and media members feared.

While young players are being leaned on at some positions, Tua still has two of the premier receivers in Hill and Jaylen Waddle to work with. The cohesion that would be expected after several years of playing together wasn’t evident.

Tagovailoa appeared uncomfortable in the pocket and his throws were erratic. On the first interception, he sailed the throw five yards past Hill, who was open over the middle.

Hill’s frustration was evident on the sideline during the game and suggested all is still not well between him and Tagovailoa.

Remember when tyreek hill said Tua was the best qb in the nfl?? pic.twitter.com/X0N2pEJrby

— Kyle Nap (@KyleNaps) September 7, 2025

Dolphins general manager Chris Grier, already No. 1 on Dolphins fans’ hit list, recently said that in letting go of some veteran players, the roster was undergoing a “reset” but not a rebuild.

There is more talent on the roster than the 2019 “Tank For Tua” team that started 0-7 and began the rebuilding effort that was supposed to lead the way to sustainable success. That mission has yielded no playoff wins and led the beleaguered franchise back to what looks like another deep rut.

Granted it was only one game, but it already feels like a season in crisis.

Craig Davis has covered South Florida sports and teams, including the Dolphins, for more than four decades. Follow him on the site formerly known as Twitter @CraigDavisRuns.