Tua Tagovailoa completed all five of his passes, including a touchdown, during his only series in the Miami Dolphins’ 13-6 preseason win against the Washington Commanders on Saturday night.
Tagovailoa, who was playing for the first time since signing a four-year, $212 million contract, was precise with his throws, accumulating 51 yards on a 61-yard drive that ended with a 13-yard touchdown pass to River Cracraft on fourth-and-1.
“It feels good any time you start to get back into a routine and get back into the games,” Tagovailoa said. “Jitters will always be there going into the first series and first plays. Other than that, we executed the way we wanted to and did what we wanted to do.”
Washington rookie Jayden Daniels also had a strong performance, playing two series and completing 10 of 12 passes for 78 yards while rushing for 13 yards. The No. 2 overall pick in the NFL draft led drives of 46 and 52 yards.
The first drive ended with a missed 49-yard field goal by Riley Patterson, who made a 46-yard kick on the second drive.
“Go out there and just trying to execute at a high level,” Daniels said. “I wished we would have finished with some touchdowns but put the team in position to score points.”
Patterson went 2 for 4 on field goals, also making a 38-yard kick and missing from 43 yards.
Jason Sanders made field goals from 39 and 33 yards for the Dolphins (2-0).
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel seemed to follow his usual preseason pattern with Tagovailoa, having him sit out the opener and finale while playing briefly in the second game.
“I thought it was probably the least amount of nerves that he’s had the first time stepping out on the football field,” McDaniel said. “He didn’t force any issues. I really liked his decisions, his ball placement. It was nice to see him out there. I know he was fired up.”
The Dolphins converted two fourth downs during their drive. “Mike just trusted us that we’d get it done,” Tagovailoa said. “Very proud of it.”
After Daniels left the game in the second quarter, backup Jeff Driskel took over for Washington (0-2). He completed 11 of 15 passes for 82 yards.
Trace McSorley, who joined the Commanders this week after quarterback Sam Hartman injured his right shoulder in the preseason opener, played in the fourth quarter. He went 11 of 21 for 93 yards with one interception.
For the second week in a row, the Dolphins finished the game with a stop on downs inside their 10-yard line in the final moments.
Washington’s chance to tie or win the game ended when McSorley’s fourth-down pass to Mitchell Tinsley in the end zone was incomplete.
“That was a real cool game to be a part of at the end,” Commanders coach Dan Quinn said. “A number of the players absolutely emptied the tank. Here in the locker room you could see guys who were gassed but were also upset because they really went for it.”
Rookie edge rusher Chop Robinson, the Dolphins’ first-round draft pick, made his preseason debut and stopped Michael Wiley for a 4-yard loss late in the second quarter.
Tagovailoa was missing key targets Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, who together had 2,813 receiving yards last season. Neither was in uniform.
