Instant takeaways from Dolphins' preseason game vs. Raiders

MIAMI GARDENS — Some good, some not-so-good, lots of questions and no last-second victory.

That's the story of the Dolphins' preseason, two-thirds of which is now complete after Miami lost to the Las Vegas Raiders 15-13 at Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday night.

Jason Sanders' first miss of the preseason, from 46 yards out, doomed the Dolphins. He hit the left upright with 1 1/2 minutes remaining.

Sanders had beaten Tampa Bay in the preseason opener with a late 53-yard kick.

The Dolphins close out the preseason Saturday against the visiting Philadelphia Eagles.

Here are Five Takeaways from the game vs. the Raiders:

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The cornerback situation is enough to cost coaches sleep

A week after losing promising Trill Williams for the season with an ACL injury, the Dolphins saw another cornerback, Nik Needham, go down early with what might be a dislocated finger.

Considering that Needham is a part-time starter at an already thin position, it was concerning to see him walking into the locker room.

But that’s not all.

Two plays later, Raiders QB Jarrett Stidham tried to attack the secondary, but Keion Crossen was on the coverage. Only problem: One defensive series later, Crossen, who has made more than his share of plays in training camp, went down with an injury.

That pressed into action Mackensie Alexander, the newly signed cornerback out of Immokalee. QB Nick Mullens looked Alexander’s way immediately, hitting Keelan Cole for 22 yards.

But in the third quarter, Alexander needed attention in the medical tent.

Bottom line: GM Chris Grier might be working the phones again next week for secondary help.

The real Jason Sanders may be back

Looks like everybody might go back to assuming whenever No. 7 is trotting onto the field, three points are automatic.

A week after Jason Sanders went four for four against Tampa Bay, he kicked two first-half field goals against Las Vegas.

Best of all, Sanders drilled a 57-yarder. Package that with kicks of 52 and 53 yards last week and there’s a growing confidence that his subpar 2021 season was nothing more than a blip on the radar.

For his career, Sanders has made 100 of 120 attempts, an 83.3 percentage, the best in Dolphins history.

Too early to panic on run game (but barely)

A week after struggling to get much going on the ground vs. Tampa Bay, the Dolphins found a way to take a major step backward.

By halftime, the Dolphins had attempted eight runs and netted an embarrassing 4 yards, an average of 18 inches per carry.

Salvon Ahmed and Chase Edmonds shared the honors of leading the team in rushing with 3 yards apiece. The team’s longest rush went for just 4 yards.

The most frustrating sequence came early in the second quarter with the Dolphins flirting with a trip into the red zone. Sony Michel was stuffed on a third-and-1 run up the middle, behind tackle Larnel Coleman. Coleman magnified matters when he false-started as the Dolphins lined up to go for it.

Sanders ended up kicking a 46-yard field goal.

The Dolphins can only hope things improve when left tackle Terron Armstead is plugged in.

For the game, the Dolphins ran 18 times for 37 yards, a 2.1 average.

And Gaskin didn’t help in passing game

The Dolphins got lucky late in the first half when Myles Gaskin caught a pass from Teddy Bridgewater, then made a move to turn upfield. That’s when Sam Webb slammed into him, jarring the ball loose.

Officials quickly blew their whistles. Luckily for the Dolphins.

Upon a review, the original call of an incomplete pass was overturned, making it a completion/fumble. But because the whistle had blown, the Raiders got the ball but not credit for what would have been a long return — probably a touchdown — by Webb, who had a convoy.

It’s preseason for officials, too. In the regular season, it’s the kind of play that would make a coach go ballistic.

Skylar Thompson is hot again on TD drive

A week after going 20-of-28 for 218 yards and a touchdown, Skylar Thompson’s encore was just as enticing.

Thompson was a jolt of caffeine on a night when Miami’s offense needed it.

Inserted in the second half, he went to work, going 5-of-6 for 75 yards, ending a nine-play, 86-yard drive with a 19-yard touchdown pass to running back ZaQuandre White, who sidestepped a would-be tackler and walked into the end zone. White, clearly proud of himself, celebrated with a high-stepping strut through the end zone.

At that point, Thompson’s passing rating for the night was a perfect 158.3.

One of his favorite targets is another hot rookie, Erik Ezukanma, who caught six passes for 114 yards.

Hal Habib covers the Dolphins for The Post. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Instant takeaways from Dolphins' preseason game vs. Raiders