The Mariota experiment barely got off the ground. He exited in the first quarter with an apparent right knee injury on a non-contact play, handing the reins to Sam Hartman for the rest of the night. Washington was already without Daniels, Terry McLaurin, Stefon Diggs and Chig Okonkwo, none of whom were slated to play, so this was always going to be a backups-and-camp-bodies affair for the home team.
Miami didn't have it much easier. Willis and that offense had reportedly struggled in joint practice work against Washington's defense in the days before kickoff, and the final score suggests that carried over. The Dolphins finished the preseason opener at 0-1, managing just 7 points against a Commanders defense that came into camp looking for more takeaways.
That takeaway hunt paid off in a hurry. Washington's defense picked off Miami 3 times, with Ale Kaho and Malik Spencer both cashing in and Percy Butler nearly adding a fourth. Seventh overall pick Sonny Styles got his first taste of NFL action too, wearing the green dot and logging 3 tackles in a short defensive series against Miami's starters — exactly the kind of clean, uneventful debut a rookie linebacker wants.
- QuestionableNick McCloud (CB) — The Dolphins signed McCloud to a contract Monday.08/11
- OutChris Bell (WR) — Dolphins coach Jeff Hafley suggested Friday that Bell (knee) might have a chance to play this preseason, David Furones of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports.08/07
- OutDarrell Baker Jr. (CB) — Coach Jeff Hafley stated Tuesday that Baker (undisclosed) likely will be out until midseason, Marcel Louis-Jacques of ESPN.com reports.07/28
- OutStorm Duck (CB) — Coach Jeff Hafley stated Tuesday that Duck (knee) will likely be sidelined until midseason, Marcel Louis-Jacques of ESPN.com reports.07/28
- QuestionableByron Cowart (DT) — The Commanders signed Cowart to a contract Tuesday.08/11
- QuestionableMax Scharping (G) — Scharping (knee) agreed to a contract with the Commanders on Saturday.08/08
- QuestionableNick Allegretti (G) — Allegretti is expected to miss the next week of camp due to a calf strain, John Keim of ESPN.com reports.08/02
- QuestionableJohn Bates (TE) — Bates will miss "a couple of weeks" due to a hamstring injury, Ben Standig of Big 100 Washington D.C. reports.08/02
- OutTress Way (P) — Way (pectoral) passed his physical and has been removed from the Commanders' NFI list as of Friday.08/08
- OutDeatrich Wise Jr. (DE) — The Commanders placed Wise (undisclosed) on the active/PUP list Saturday.07/25
None of this changes much on paper — it's preseason, and Washington is 1-0 while Miami sits at 0-1 in games that don't count. But the injury news is real: Mariota's knee is now a question mark behind Daniels, and left tackle Laremy Tunsil is already ticketed for surgery that will keep him out significant time. Miami, meanwhile, still has to figure out whether Willis gives them anything behind Tua Tagovailoa, and Friday's practice-tape struggles didn't exactly answer that.