Tua Tagovailoa leads Falcons past Dolphins in return to Miami

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) Tua Tagovailoa tried to keep his emotions in check. His bid to earn a starting job with a new team took priority over his return to face his former club.

Five months after being released by the Miami Dolphins and landing with the Atlanta Falcons, Tagovailoa was back inside Hard Rock Stadium. He led a touchdown drive but lost a fumble while playing the first quarter, and Atlanta went on to beat Miami 17-12 on Friday night.

“There were mixed emotions being able to come back to play at Hard Rock, but then the perspective changes being on the opposite sideline,” Tagovailoa said. “You have to go out there, drive the offense and ... put points on the board. That’s all what I was thinking of.”

Tagovailoa was booed as he took the field and finished 7 of 8 for 95 yards while playing three series. The 28-year-old spent his first six seasons with Miami.

On his first series, Tagovailoa led a 60-yard drive, capped by Brian Robinson Jr.’s 3-yard touchdown run for a 7-0 lead.

“Regardless of the reaction, I love the city,” Tagovailoa said. “It was really cool to see a lot of the guys there and talk to some of the guys after the game.”

Tagovailoa fumbled the snap to start Atlanta’s second drive and Miami recovered. His third drive also ended in a turnover when Dolphins linebacker Jackson Woodard recovered Robinson’s fumble at the Miami 13.

The Falcons finished with three turnovers.

“There is plenty to clean up, turning the ball over three times will be hard to win,” Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski said.

Tagovailoa was replaced by Cooper Rush, who went 13 of 18 for 106 yards and a touchdown.

Michael Penix Jr., the Falcons’ starter for nine games last season who returned to practice Monday, participated in warmups but didn’t play. He had been sidelined since last November with a torn ACL in his left knee.

Riley Patterson kicked four field goals for the Dolphins, who didn’t score a preseason touchdown after their opening drive against Washington on Aug. 14.

The Falcons (2-1) used a smattering of starters for limited plays while the Dolphins (0-3) went with reserves.

Starting tight end Kyle Pitts also played the first quarter, catching three passes for 59 yards for Atlanta.

“Practice you can try and replicate it but nothing compares to the game,” Pitts said. “To get out there and get your heart rate going, it is pretty good having the reps going into Week 1.”

Miami quarterback Malik Willis sat for the second consecutive week. He appeared only in the opening series at Washington.

“As you go through, you just can’t write out your plan and say, ‘Hey, I’m sticking to this no matter what.’ We had a bunch of injuries and we became super thin in a lot of positions,” Dolphins coach Jeff Hafley said of playing his backups. “We just felt that was the best decision for us and for our football team.”

After Patterson’s 46-yard field goal early in the second, Rush connected with Jack Velling for a 3-yard TD pass to make it 14-3.

Patterson and Atlanta’s Nick Folk exchanged field goals in the final two minutes of the first half.

Cam Miller started for the second consecutive week for Miami and went 7 of 16 for 71 yards. Mark Gronowski replaced Miller in the second half and went 4 of 8 for 97 yards. He also ran for 28 yards on four carries.

Miami had a chance to end its touchdown drought, but Theo Wease Jr. dropped Gronoski’s pass in the end zone midway through the third quarter. The drive stalled and Patterson kicked his third field goal, a 26-yarder.

Rookie receiver Chris Bell made his debut for Miami and caught two passes for 22 yards. The Dolphins selected Bell in the third round out of Louisville.

“I’m not going to lie, just to step back out there on the field for my first NFL game being in Miami’s stadium, it felt pretty good,” Bell said.

Falcons: At Pittsburgh in their season opener on Sept. 13.

Dolphins: Open the season at Las Vegas on Sept. 13.

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