With game on the line, the Dolphins’ defense finally comes up big against the Chargers

The Vic Fangio era as the Dolphins defensive coordinator was about as successful as it is to defend Austin Ekeler. Or Tyreek Hill. Pick your superlative, but the Dolphins did not show the kind of fortitude that spells success.

Except when it mattered most.

After 58 minutes of being average at best, and protecting a two-point lead and facing a high-powered Los Angeles Chargers offense that featured Ekeler, quarterback Justin Herbert, and receiver Keenan Allen, the Dolphins rose to the occasion with the game on the line. It might have been one of a few times it rose during the day, but it was enough to protect a 36-34 victory in the season opener.

“That’s why this is a team game,” Hill, who caught 11 passes for 215 yards and two touchdowns, said afterward. “It’s all about having each other’s backs. It’s a new system for the defense, and it’s all about getting on the same page, so I’m sure that next game they’re going to be way better. It’s a team game.”

It’s only one game in, but the Fangio philosophy certainly got a workout against the Chargers. Herbert passed for 228 yards against the Dolphins secondary (absent Jalen Ramsey), and Ekeler rushed for 117 yards to lead a ground game that gained 234.

And because of that, fans at SoFi Stadium had every reason to believe Jason Sanders’ missed extra-point attempt after Hill’s 4-yard scoring reception with 1 minute 49 seconds remaining would be enough for the Chargers to overcome the 36-34 deficit with a simple field goal. After all, Chargers kicker Cameron Dicker had already been successful from 50 and 25 yards.

But then something got into the Dolphins. A squad that didn’t sack Herbert through the first 41 minutes, sacked him twice on the final drive, the last on fourth-and-12 from his 32.

Shared by Jaelen Phillips and Justin Bethel, the sack was the second in three plays. It came moments after a second-down sack by Zach Sieler dropped the Chargers back to the 16 and in full-on desperation mode.

It was reason enough to breathe a big sigh of relief for the fans and Fangio, the influential defensive genius heralded as the savior of a rebuilt unit that is supposed to confound opposing offenses and eliminate the big plays. But for most of the afternoon, that didn’t happen.

The Chargers had four plays greater than 20 yards, three over 35, and a 55-yarder. The Dolphins offense was equal to the task. — they outgained the Chargers 536-433 — but in the end, it was the defense that had to come up big.

“Week 1 is always interesting, that’s what we spent most of the time talking to players,” Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel said. “The whole league, all the fan bases, lose their minds in Week 1. It’s totally understandable. You have all this buildup, it’s the first game, and you can go sideways with your emotions if things don’t work out your way. People overreact. A two-score deficit feels bigger than it is, a dropped pass feels bigger than it actually is, so overall, I was really fired up about the team playing through things, having a lead, losing leads. Ultimately, say what you want, the game was won with the defense on the field. And that will always be the story of how teams win or lose. There will be a game this year — I told the guys in the locker room — we’ll have to win a game without scoring a touchdown.

“Teams find a way. I was really pumped about that, weathering the storm, doing what you have to do on both sides of the ball. If you need points, you get points. If you need a stop, you get the stop.”

And that’s what happened. The Fangio era has another week to get on the same page. And when the Dolphins needed a stop, they got a stop.