Dolphins film study: How Miami’s offense can stay on track with Teddy Bridgewater

It’s never a convenient situation when a backup quarterback has to enter an NFL game.

But when Dolphins quarterback Teddy Bridgewater on Thursday night had to come in for Tua Tagovailoa, who sustained a concussion in the team’s 27-15 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, the unfavorable circumstances were exacerbated by the shortened week of practice, which included three walkthroughs.

However, Bridgewater, who will start for Tagovailoa in Sunday’s road game against the New York Jets, almost rallied the Dolphins to a victory before throwing a late interception that stemmed from a miscommunication with tight end Mike Gesicki. And Bridgewater’s first extended action at quarterback showed the Dolphins’ offense can remain functional — and at times explosive — without Tagovailoa, who has been one of the league’s best quarterbacks in the first month of the season.

“I think that there are certain times where you will have a large disparity between the type of offense you run from your starter to your backup. I don’t see this being one of them,” Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said Monday. “I think Teddy does a lot of very good things at the quarterback position that are similar to Tua’s strengths, and he’s done a great job within the offense. So we’ll obviously cater to certain things specifically that Teddy prefers or is comfortable with, but for the most part, the aesthetic presentation should look very similar to what it looks like now.”

When Bridgewater entered the game with about five minutes left in the first half, the offense didn’t change much, as McDaniel said. The Dolphins used many of their standard zone runs and got a spark from running back Raheem Mostert, who rushed for 69 yards on 15 carries. They utilized motion. And they leaned on wide receiver Tyreek Hill, who caught 10 passes for 160 yards.

Bridgewater finished 14 of 23 for 193 yards, one touchdown and his interception. His expected points added (EPA) per play — a measure of efficiency that takes into account how well a play performs relative to its expectation — was 0.07, according to RBSDM. That would have ranked 17th of 32 quarterbacks with at least 64 plays this season (For reference, Tagovailoa’s EPA per play is 0.335, which ranks second in the NFL).

When the Dolphins signed Bridgewater, it was a move that was widely applauded because he and Tagovailoa were perceived to be similar quarterbacks, accurate and efficient passers who could distribute the ball to their teammates and wouldn’t often put the ball in harm’s way.

One of Bridgewater’s best completions of the night came with a nice rhythm and timing, focal points of McDaniel’s scheme to obtain yards after the catch. With under six minutes left in the third quarter, Hill motioned from the right side of the formation to the left. At the snap, Bridgewater faked a shotgun handoff to Mostert before delivering a 16-yard pass to wide receiver Trent Sherfield. The linebackers didn’t bite much on the play fake but Sherfield was able to get behind the second-level defenders. Though it didn’t result in any yards after the catch, it is the type of easy completion that has gotten Tagovailoa into a groove and could do the same for Bridgewater.

One of the most encouraging parts of Tagovailoa’s start to the season has been not only his accuracy on deep passes but his willingness to attempt them. His 14 attempts on passes traveling 20 or more air yards are tied for seventh among 33 quarterbacks with at least 30 passing attempts, according to Sports Info Solutions, and his eight such completions rank second.

Like Tagovailoa, Bridgewater’s reputation hasn’t been one of a gunslinger. But his career-high 8.9 air yards per attempt last season, according to Pro Football Reference, showed a greater willingness to push the ball downfield.

Bridgewater’s 64-yard completion to Hill traveled 61.4 yards in the air, the longest completion by air yard distance this season, according to Next Gen Stats. The Bengals were in a Cover 3 defense with one deep safety. Wide receiver Jaylen Waddle ran a post route, attracting the attention of the safety, while Hill sped downfield 1-on-1 with a cornerback on a go route. The ball left Bridgewater’s hands early enough that the other outside cornerback on the opposite side of the field couldn’t get back in time to disrupt Hill, who hauled in a bobbling catch.

According to TruMedia, the Jets under head coach Robert Saleh this season have run the highest rate of Cover 4 defenses, in which four players cover a quarter of the deep field. That could be a deterrent against the deep passing the Dolphins have had success with.

If New York sticks to their tendencies, the onus will be across the Dolphins’ offense to capitalize without Tagovailoa. The offensive line has to open running lanes and block better than last Thursday when Bridgewater was pressured seven times. Running backs have to take advantage of the light boxes to draw linebackers and safeties closer to the line of scrimmage. Pass-catchers have to find holes in the zone defense and maximize yards after the catch.

And Bridgewater might not need to replicate the efficiency of Tagovailoa’s play this season. But his accuracy, timing and decision-making — areas of strength for Tagovailoa this season — will be key to the Dolphins staying atop the AFC East standings.

“Everyone’s super confident in him,” McDaniel said. “He’s done it before. It’s a different deal coming off the bench than starting. Teddy knows that and he’ll be fully prepared and ready to go. I don’t think that the team will bat an eye when we lace them up on Sunday.”