Miami Dolphins quarterback Jay Cutler won his first game with his new team, 19-17, over the Los Angeles Chargers. It wasn’t the prettiest performance, but Cutler showed several flashes in his Miami debut with room to grow.

After studying the film, here is a breakdown of Cutler’s first game:

Stats: 24-of-33 passing, 230 yards, one touchdown, 101.8 passer rating

Best throw: At the 12-minute, 17-second mark of the third quarter, Cutler received the snap from the shotgun formation on second-and-10. Los Angeles covered Miami receivers well initially and collapsed the pocket. So Cutler scrambled right to avoid Chargers defensive lineman Corey Liuget while keeping his eyes downfield. Dolphins receiver Kenny Stills streaked across the end zone in a favorable matchup against Los Angeles linebacker Jatavis Brown. Cutler fired a 29-yard touchdown to Stills that was only catchable by the Miami receiver. The singular play showed all the good things about Cutler: veteran savvy, pocket presence, a strong arm and ability to stay accurate on the run.

Worst throw: Cutler’s worst throw actually turned out to be one of his top plays. At the 4:38 mark in the third quarter, Cutler took a first-down snap and didn’t look anyone off after a play-action fake. His lob was underthrown to receiver DeVante Parker, but Parker bailed out Cutler by outjumping Chargers cornerback Casey Hayward for a 31-yard reception. Cutler did several things wrong on that play but got away with it. Cutler said during the preseason he won’t be afraid to throw it up to Parker even if he’s covered, but that could result in a big turnover. Cutler’s read Sunday went against convention, but it worked.

What I liked overall: Cutler didn’t turn over the football. That’s one of the biggest things to watch with Cutler and one of the big reasons why he was successful in coach Adam Gase’s system when the two were with the Chicago Bears. There will be games when Miami will ask Cutler, who is aggressive by nature, not to lose the game. Cutler proved Sunday he’s capable of playing with those orders. Cutler did get overly aggressive with the aforementioned completion to Parker, who was well covered, but that worked in his favor. Cutler seems pretty comfortable in the offense after joining the team just six weeks ago and his ability to change tempos, from huddle to half-huddle or no-huddle, could be beneficial. Cutler also got a major boost from the running game with Pro Bowler Jay Ajayi (122 rushing yards), who made the quarterback’s day easier by moving the chains.

What I didn’t like overall: Cutler was conservative in the first half, and Gase shares the blame because he was calling the plays. It wasn’t until the second half when Cutler tested Los Angeles’ defense downfield, and that’s when he had the most success with receivers Stills and Parker. Similar to injured Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill, Cutler got too comfortable taking the safe, easy reads to receiver Jarvis Landry, who had 13 receptions but averaged six yards per catch. Fifteen targets for Landry -- or any one receiver -- usually are too much. Cutler’s short accuracy also wasn’t on point as several of those connections were too high or left or right, which forced Landry to make tough catches. In addition, Cutler must do a better job spreading the ball around to all of his offensive weapons. His read-option attempt in the second half also was an abomination and probably should be taken out of the playbook.

Grade: B-minus

What’s next: Cutler and the Dolphins will travel to play the New York Jets (0-2), who are ranked 29th in total defense. They gave up 45 points last week in a loss to the Oakland Raiders.