Malik Willis took his first snaps as a Miami Dolphin on Friday night, and for one drive at least, he looked like the answer to a question the franchise spent all offseason asking. The Dolphins still lost, falling 20-7 to the Washington Commanders at Northwest Stadium in the first of three NFL preseason games played Thursday and Friday to open the exhibition slate.
Willis completed 4 of 5 passes for 43 yards and added 9 yards on two carries, finishing with a 102.5 passer rating in his lone series of work. He opened the game by leading Miami on a 14-play, 93-yard touchdown drive, capped by a De'Von Achane 1-yard run, that chewed up nearly seven minutes of clock. The signature moment came on third-and-5, when Willis dropped a 28-yard throw over cornerback Antonio Hamilton Sr. into the arms of rookie receiver Caleb Douglas, who came down with a one-handed catch along the sideline.
It was a small sample against players who, like Willis, will mostly be out of the league by September. But it was the sample Dolphins fans had been waiting for since Miami moved on from Tua Tagovailoa in March, releasing the former starter with a record $99.2 million in dead-cap charges and watching him sign with the Atlanta Falcons. Miami turned to Willis instead, giving the 27-year-old journeyman — cut loose by Tennessee, then a brief stop in Green Bay — a three-year, $67.5 million contract with $45 million guaranteed, betting that his arm strength and mobility could finally be harnessed with a full offseason as a starter.
Willis's First Test
Washington answered by playing along with its own quarterback drama. Marcus Mariota got the start over rookie sensation Jayden Daniels, who is still working back from the injuries that ended his second season early, but Mariota's night lasted just four plays. He suffered a leg injury on a non-contact play while handing off to running back Kaytron Allen and walked off under his own power, giving way to Sam Hartman. The Commanders leaned on their backfield the rest of the way, with Robert Henry Jr. adding a 22-yard touchdown run among six carries for 57 yards, Allen scoring on a 1-yard plunge, and Jake Moody and Drew Stevens splitting field-goal duty in the 20-7 final, per the box score at NFL.com.
Willis did not play beyond the opening series, ceding the rest of the night to Miami's quarterback depth chart as coaches got a longer look at the roster's fringes. Still, for a team that spent the spring and summer fielding questions about whether it had a plan at the position, one clean, business-like touchdown drive was enough to change the conversation, at least for a night. The full recap from Yahoo Sports noted Willis showed the arm strength, mobility and command that made him an offseason gamble worth taking seriously.
Around the League
Friday's card also featured the Denver Broncos routing the Atlanta Falcons 27-7, with backup Jarrett Stidham throwing a touchdown pass and building a 24-0 halftime lead before Denver's reserves took over, and safety Jahdae Barron returning an interception 97 yards for a score. In the night's third game, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the New York Jets 24-16 in a contest that neither starting quarterback played in — Baker Mayfield was never expected to suit up, and Geno Smith sat out with mild foot soreness.
The three games closed out a preseason-opening slate that began Thursday with five results across the league: the Cincinnati Bengals edged the Detroit Lions 16-14, the Pittsburgh Steelers routed the Green Bay Packers 28-9, the Los Angeles Chargers beat the Houston Texans 27-7, the Arizona Cardinals defeated the Las Vegas Raiders 27-14, and the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts played to a 13-13 tie, according to CBS Sports' live coverage of Thursday's games.
None of it counts, and preseason performances are notoriously poor predictors of regular-season form. But for two franchises that spent the winter and spring answering questions about their quarterback rooms, Friday offered the first real evidence, however limited, of where things stand. Washington will now shift its attention back to Daniels and his workload as the team builds toward Week 1, while Miami will want to see Willis get more extended run in the Dolphins' next preseason outing before passing final judgment on the offseason's biggest quarterback bet.
