LAS VEGAS -- Miami Dolphins quarterback Malik Willis might be sore after his first start for his new team.
Willis was pressured 17 times in Sunday's 27-13 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, and was sacked five times as the Raiders defense took advantage of obvious passing situations in the second half.
He leaves his Dolphins regular season debut tied with Tyler Shough and Deshaun Watson for the most sacks taken in the NFL this week, but he was quick to accept all the blame for what he called a "quarterback stat."
"I've got to watch the tape, but you can just blame them all on me," Willis said after the game. "I've got to take care of the ball and I've got to do right by my offensive line and get the ball out and that's everybody. It takes all 11. We got to make sure the receivers are in the right spot, got to make sure I'm doing the right thing. We got to make sure our backs are doing the right thing and it all works together -- but you can blame the sacks on me.
"Sacks are a quarterback stat and I'm going to take the O-line out after that."
Willis completed 15-of-27 passes for 220 yards and an interception Sunday, adding a 14-yard rushing touchdown that proved to be Miami's lone touchdown of the day. Trailing by multiple scores, the Dolphins' offense almost exclusively passed the ball in the second half and Las Vegas' pass rushers pinned their ears back as a result.
When facing pressure, Willis completed 5-of-9 passes for 113 yards, notching a 100.5 passer rating with a completion percentage over expectation of 5.9%.
Dolphins coach Jeff Hafley said Willis still has his "total confidence and faith," adding that he thought his quarterback made great plays with his legs and arm. But Miami's offense as a whole, he said, was "inconsistent."
"Part of the plan to win was to keep the ball moving forward," he said. "I thought the penalties killed us. They forced us into a lot of passing situations that were crucial that you really don't want to be in against that team ... Just like most of the units today, I thought it was inconsistent and that's how we kind of played the game today."
Throughout the game, Miami struggled to find easy completions for Willis and he spent an extraordinary amount of time trying to keep plays alive in the backfield in search of an open receiver.
Willis finished with an average time to throw of 3.21 seconds, the fourth-longest time of any quarterback in Week 1. He also led the NFL this week with an average air yards per attempt of 13.6 yards, and was off target on 22% of his throws, which was the fourth-highest percentage in the league this week.
He did find success when targeting rookie wide receiver Caleb Douglas, who finished with a game-high 94 yards on five catches.
"I think he's been doing a great job trying to continue to learn and get better," Willis said of Douglas. "He's had a great camp and learned a lot from OTAs and I think he's doing a great job of wanting to get better and wanting to be out there and make plays ... I think (offensive coordinator) Bobby (Slowik) put him in a position to get a couple going and I think it just worked out that way for today."
The Dolphins will remain on the west coast, practicing in Northern California this week ahead of their Week 2 game against the San Francisco 49ers (4:25 p.m., E.T., FOX).
Both Hafley and Willis said the trip provides a distraction-free opportunity for players to bond and lock into their on-field assignments while they prepare for 49ers defense that held the Los Angeles Rams to 290 yards of offense in Week 1.
