MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Hey, maybe Reggie Bush can lead the league in rushing after all.
The Miami Dolphins’ veteran running back had made that an offseason goal, then went out and backed it up with a 171-yard, two-touchdown outburst in Sunday’s 35-13 win over the Oakland Raiders.
Bush, coming off the first 1,000-yard rushing season of his career, appeared to come up limping after a sweep early in the third quarter. One possession later, he made four Raiders miss on his 23-yard touchdown run that put the Dolphins back in front.
Bush followed that with a 65-yard touchdown run around the right end on the next series, outracing Raiders safeties Michael Huff and Tyvon Branch to the end zone.
Bush was taken five picks ahead of Huff in the 2006 draft after winning the Heisman Trophy at USC. Huff, the former Texas star, had beaten Bush’s Trojans in the BCS Championship game that year.
The Dolphins had lost their past six home openers dating to 2005 by an average of 9.8 points. Four of those had come against AFC East rivals.
For Bush, it was his second-biggest NFL rushing day, ranking behind only the 203 yards he put on the Bills last December. The 65-yard run was eclipsed only by the 76-yard touchdown Bush had at Buffalo that same day.
Like Dolphins coach Joe Philbin, Dolphins rookie quarterback Ryan Tannehill notched his first NFL win, sealing it with a 14-yard scoring pass to Anthony Fasano with 11:57 remaining.
After being held without an offensive touchdown in Houston last week, the Dolphins opened with a 12-play, 80-yard touchdown march.
Tannehill found Brian Hartline twice for 36 yards on the drive, then capped it with a 2-yard scoring run on a bootleg around left end.
Hartline, who missed virtually the entire offseason with calf and appendix issues, posted career highs in receptions (nine) and receiving yards (111).
Lamar Miller, a rookie fourth-round pick out of the University of Miami, added a 14-yard scoring run with five minutes left.
The Raiders tied the game 7-7 late in the first quarter on a 64-yard screen pass from Carson Palmer to Mike Goodson. Dolphins linebacker Koa Misi got blocked out of the play and cornerback Nolan Carroll missed a tackle that opened the door for disaster.
Sebastian Janikowski made it 10-7 Raiders with a 25-yard field goal in the final minute of the first half. The Raiders drove 81 yards, helped by a 31-yard completion to tight end David Ausberry, but bogged down after having first-and-goal at the Miami 7.
Notes: The announced crowd of 54,245 was the smallest for a Dolphins home opener since 1991, when 51,155 turned out to see the Dolphins beat the Colts. … Raiders running back Darren McFadden was poked in the eye in the first quarter and left the game. He returned on the next possession. … Dolphins wide receiver Anthony Armstrong, the team’s leading downfield threat, missed the game with a hamstring injury. … Members of the 1972 Dolphins were part of an alumni presence that handed out “Still Perfect” hats to fans at every gate as they entered the stadium. … The Raiders were without their top downfield threat as well. Wide receiver Jacoby Ford was placed on injured reserve during the week. … For the second straight week, Pro Bowl left tackle Jake Long gave up a sack to a former Wisconsin standout. This time it was Raiders defensive end Matt Shaughnessy, following up on J.J. Watt’s big day in Houston. … Dolphins starting cornerback Richard Marshall left the game in the second quarter with a back injury.