Malik Willis' first game as the starting quarterback for the Miami Dolphins was a disappointing performance by the offense as a whole in the 27-13 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders.
Willis finished the game completing 15 of 27 attempts for 220 passing yards and an interception. He also added 39 rushing yards and a touchdown on the ground.
The Dolphins struggled to establish the running game with De'Von Achane who totaled just 36 yards on 11 attempts. This combined with the Dolphins trailing Las Vegas almost the entire game forced the offense to rely on the passing game.
Willis' interception came at a costly moment in the game, as the Raiders responded with a 13-play drive that took over seven minutes off the clock and set up a field goal, extending
the Las Vegas lead to 27-13. Miami's offense didn't capitalize on a Raiders team that didn't score in the fourth quarter.
But probably the most glaring statistic was five sacks recorded by the Raider defense on Willis, three of which occurred on third down. The five sacks on Willis cost the Dolphins a total of 35 yards.
After the game Willis took accountability for the sacks recorded by the Las Vegas defense.
"I got to watch the tape, but you can just blame (the sacks) all on me," Willis said. "I got to take care of the ball, and I got to do right by my offensive line, get the ball out.
"It takes all 11, got to make sure the receivers are in the right spot, got to make sure I'm doing the right thing, we got to make sure our backs are doing the right thing, and it all works together. But you can blame the sacks on me. A sack is a quarterback stat, and I'm going to take the O-line out for that."
While Willis isn't entirely to blame for the sacks, multiple times it was clearly a result of him holding onto the football too long. The sacks by the Raider defense were momentum-shifting plays, especially the ones on third down.
There were certainly some positive takeaways from Willis' performance. He has developed a trusted receiving target in rookie wideout Caleb Douglas, who caught five passes for 94 yards. Willis also showed off his mobility throughout this game, most notably his 14-yard touchdown run. Willis averaged 6.5 yards on his six rushing attempts. It'll be interesting to see if his mobility is emphasized more in the offense going overall.
Overall, Willis' lack of consistency throwing the football made it nearly impossible for the Miami offense to build any momentum during the game.
It is obvious that it'll take time for this Dolphins offense to play consistently with Willis at quarterback. In an ideal scenario, the Dolphins will be able to establish the ground game with Achane to make Willis' job easier.
This article originally appeared on Dolphins Wire: Dolphins QB Malik Willis takes blame for costly sacks vs. Raiders
