Miami, FL – Reggie Bush ran for 172 yards with a pair of touchdowns, leading the Miami Dolphins to a 35-13 victory over the Oakland Raiders at Sun Life Stadium.
Ryan Tannehill notched his first win as an NFL quarterback, throwing for 200 yards with his first touchdown. The first-round pick also ran for a score as he and the Dolphins (1-1) bounced back from a dismal opener last week in Houston and gave Joe Philbin his first win as an NFL head coach.
Miami failed to score an offensive touchdown in the 30-10 loss to the Texans, as Tannehill threw three interceptions in the setback. On Sunday, the Texas A&M product completed 18-of-30 passes and was not picked off, directing four second-half scoring drives.
Brian Hartline was his favorite target, catching nine passes for 111 yards. The Miami rushing attack was also a factor with 263 yards.
"I don't know exactly how many yards we ended up with, but it's tough running the ball in the National Football League and when you're able to have an explosive player like Reggie, who can make tough yards and take it the distance, it adds a whole other element that defense are going to have to prepare for and defend throughout the year," Tannehill said.
Oakland (0-2) was coming off a Monday night loss to San Diego in its opener and has dropped its first two games for the first time since the 2007 campaign.
Carson Palmer connected on 24-of-48 passes for 373 yards with a touchdown and an interception in defeat. The Raider ground game managed just 23 yards, led by 22 on 11 carries from Darren McFadden.
Miami trailed 10-7 at the break and punted after its opening possession of the third quarter, but Brandon Fields pinned the Raiders at their own one when a holding penalty negated a 24-yard return. Oakland then failed to pick up a first down and the Miami offense took over at the Raider 44 following a punt.
The Dolphins took full advantage of the short field and needed just four plays to find the end zone. A 12-yard pass to Hartline ignited the quick series and Bush finished it with a 23-yard burst, breaking a pair of tackles in the secondary on a 3rd-and-1 carry.
Bush scored again on Miami's next series, outracing the Oakland defense down the left sideline for a 65-yard score and a 21-10 advantage.
Oakland finally answered in the opening seconds of the fourth quarter with a 27-yard field goal from Sebastian Janikowski. A 47-yard punt return by Phillip Adams set the Oakland offense up at the Miami 25.
The Dolphins, though, answered with an 80-yard drive for a touchdown. Tannehill completed four of his five passes during the series, including a pair of third-down conversions to Hartline, and finished it with a 14-yard scoring toss to Anthony Fasano for a 28-13 lead with 11:45 remaining.
Lamar Miller capped Miami's next possession, a 75-yard drive, with a 15-yard touchdown run for the final margin.
"I thought Miami had a good plan on how they came out and tried to attack us in the second half," Raiders coach Dennis Allen said. "We've got to do a better job in the third quarter of coming back out after halftime and playing better in the second half. I thought that was something that got us last week and creeped up again this week. So we've got to do a better job there."
The Dolphins took the opening kickoff and marched 80 yards in 12 plays for a touchdown. Tannehill keyed it early with a 13-yard scramble, added passes of 15 and 21 yards to Hartline and finished the drive with a bootleg from the two for his first NFL touchdown.
Oakland tied it on its second offensive series with a 92-yard drive, capped by Mike Goodson's 64-yard catch and run for a score in the final minute of the opening period.
The second quarter featured a combined seven punts before Oakland used a hurry-up offense to tack on a field goal in the final minute of the half. Palmer led the Raiders from their own 12 to the Miami seven, then threw three straight incomplete passes before Janikowski drilled a 25-yard field goal for a 10-7 lead.
Game Notes
Bush had a career-high 26 carries. He added three catches for 25 yards ... The 35 points were the most in a home opener for the Dolphins since a 49-21 win over Detroit in 2002 ... Miller, taking over as the backup running back in the absence of Daniel Thomas (concussion), finished with 65 yards on 10 carries in his pro debut... Oakland was 1-for-12 on third down ... The Dolphins have won four straight in the series ... Miami hosts the New York Jets next Sunday, while the Raiders welcome Pittsburgh.
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