The Miami Dolphins' offense this preseason hadn't been worth writing home about. Well, except for the one touchdown drive engineered by Tua Tagovailoa last weekend against the Washington Commanders.
The rest of the preseason has seen the Dolphins' other two quarterbacks be able to do next to nothing to move the football against reserve defenses - albeit with other reserve players around them.
However, separation might have finally come on Friday night in Tampa during the Dolphins' 24-14 loss to the Buccaneers.
Skylar Thompson led two touchdown drives, completing 19 of 27 passes for 190 yards, 2 touchdowns, and an interception that came on the final drive. His QB2 competition Mike White was 5/9 for 37 yards and had a strip sack fumble return for a touchdown called back as an incomplete pass after review.
Mike McDaniel acknowledged the progress that Thompson made on Friday night after the game.
"As a rookie, he demonstrated some aggressiveness and ability to make plays in this league, and it's been about, since then, training his craft, really owning the quarterback position within the offense. I thought this preseason he's exhibited growth in what that means. It means you're the leader of the unit, that you have to orchestrate the play calls, decision making, all of those things like that. He took a good step forward tonight.
"He played as though the game was slow to him, slowed down, and was able to get some space, and I think - we hadn't gotten the chance to see something that we saw in college from him that he put on display tonight, which is his balance and his ability to break tackles and get edges on defenders. It was cool for him. It was definitely a big spark for us, and I'm happy to see him really own the moment, and he's a football player. You could tell pre-game that he was ready to go by him saying 'it's time'."
If preseason play really has any kind of significant place in the evaluation that McDaniel and general manager Chris Grier will make in trimming their roster down to 53 players, then Thompson's name should be the one that ends up next to Tua Tagovailoa's on the QB line. ( And there really should only be two QBs on the active roster. This group simply hasn't been good enough to carry three. )
Thompson showed touch and poise that he hadn't shown through the first two preseason games. That was particularly on display in the second half, when he laid a ball in perfectly to a sliding Mike Harley, Jr. for a 25-yard gain. Thompson rolled right away from pressure and threw a strike on the run. He also threw a nice pass on the sideline for a touchdown earlier in the game while on the run.
Between his superior athleticism and the performance he delivered on Friday night, it appears pretty clear that Thompson should ( key word: should ) be named the backup quarterback to Tagovailoa when the 53-man roster is finalized on Tuesday. White simply didn't do anything with his chances, while Thompson finally did.
Better late than never.
Related: Predicting the Miami Dolphins' final 53-man roster after final preseason game
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