Dolphins Preseason Game 2 Instant Takeaways

The Miami Dolphins closed out their Midwest road trip with a 24-17 victory against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field on Saturday afternoon, but as always the final score wasn't as significant as how we got there.

This second Dolphins preseason game saw a much better performance from the quarterbacks, strong work from a couple of young wide receivers, some highlight plays by rookie defensive players, and perhaps some separation in the punter battle.

So, without further ado, here are our five instant takeaways from this game:

1. The Dolphins should feel a lot better about their backup quarterbacks after this game

It wasn't a high bar for Zach Wilson and Quinn Ewers to top what they showed against the Chicago Bears in the preseason opener, but both of them performed well. Ewers was the best quarterback on this day, with his two touchdown passes to fellow rookie Theo Wease Jr., with whom he's had a great connection throughout training camp. Ewers showed really good accuracy, even on some of his incompletions, including a drop by Tarik Black on a nifty throw while he was rolling to his left. He did have a bad throw in the fourth quarter near the sideline, but overall this was good. Wilson, meanwhile, didn't hang on to the ball the way he did against the Bears. Wilson did have a couple of misfires, including a deep one to Dee Eskridge but overall was solid.

2. Ollie Gordon II looks much better than Jaylen Wright

We always caution against reading too much into preseason game performances, but the reality is that Gordon has looked every bit as good as Wright all summer, and there was a clear gap in this game. Wright didn't get great blocking in front of him, but again wasn't able to create anything on his own. Gordon, meanwhile, broke some tackles and also gained extra yardage with some moves around the line of scrimmage. And this isn't even mentioning Gordon's great heads-up play on the second-half kick when he got his feet out of bounds before catching the ball in the field of play, creating an OB penalty on the Lions and giving the ball at the Miami 40.

3. Dee Eskridge might have locked up his roster spot

The Dolphins didn't use Malik Washington or Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, along with Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, a pretty good indication they'll all be on the 53-man roster. That leaves room for one other wide receiver, maybe two, and it's going to be awfully hard to keep Eskridge off the team after a very good summer and a very good performance against the Lions. Yes, Eskridge has to secure the ball better on his punt return, but he was very good after the catch and even showed the ability to get open deep on the play where Wilson underthrew him. Tahj Washington and Erik Ezukanma have had their moments this summer, and Theo Wease Jr. had a huge game against Detroit, but Eskridge simply has been too good not to keep.

4. The cornerback situation remains as muddle as ever

The Dolphins have been looking for two clear starters all summer and Storm Duck seems to have emerged as one of them, but it's been a mishmash on the other side. And now just when it looked like Ethan Bonner was ready to seize the second starting job, he left the game against Detroit with an apparent knee injury and didn't return. Meanwhile, Kendall Sheffield continues to be solid in coverage and dependable but lacking deep speed. Jason Marshall Jr. shows flashes, but also rookie tendencies at times — like playing way too soft on a long completion late in the first half — and Cam Smith didn't see the field on defense until the second half. The hope here is that Bonner's injury isn't significant and he can continue his recent upward trend.

5. Bailey gains a leg up in punting competition

There had been very little to separate incumbent Jake Bailey and free agent pick-up Ryan Stonehouse coming into this game, and it still appeared to be a choice between Bailey's consistency, hang time and holding familiarity with Jason Sanders and Stonehouse's booming leg. But on this day it was Bailey who showed off the big leg, with punts of 59 and 50 yards for a net of 54.5 yards, while Stonehouse averaged 40 yards on his two punts with a net of 40 yards. It's not likely that one game will be the deciding factor in this battle, but it sure won't hurt Bailey's standing.

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