The Dolphins defense is starting to take shape. Will that continue vs. Lamar Jackson?
Cornerback Xavien Howard said the Dolphins defense “[got] back a little bit to what we were doing last year” in the first half of the team’s Week 8 loss to the Buffalo Bills. And last Sunday’s win against the Houston Texans included a vintage performance for a defense that had been maligned through the first half of the 2021 season.
Although it came against a one-win Houston team, the Dolphins gave up a season-low 272 yards, sacked quarterback Tyrod Taylor five times and forced four turnovers, both season highs for Miami.
Thursday night’s home game against the Baltimore Ravens (6-2), led by quarterback Lamar Jackson, offers a telling test for the progression of the Miami defense and whether it truly is returning to its 2020 form.
Linebacker Jerome Baker, one of five remaining defensive players who were on the field for the last meeting between the Dolphins and Ravens, shook his head and smiled when reminded of the 59-10 blowout win for Baltimore in the 2019 season opener.
“Yeah, that was a tough one. That was definitely a tough game,” he said.
That afternoon, Jackson, a Pompano Beach native, threw five touchdowns and became the youngest player in NFL history to record a perfect passer rating. Maybe the most impressive part of the performance? Jackson contributed just 6 rushing yards of the Ravens’ 265-yard total.
“Not bad for a running back,” Jackson quipped in postgame interviews, a dig at many of his early detractors who said he would be better suited at wide receiver or running back in the NFL.
Since then, Jackson has transformed into a unanimous Most Valuable Player award recipient who has trampled on narratives that he can’t win from the pocket or bring his team back from double-digit deficits. In the Ravens’ 34-31 win against the Minnesota Vikings last Sunday, Jackson led the Ravens from their third 10-point deficit this season. He also became the first player in league history to pass for 2,000 yards and run for 600 in the first eight games of a season.
“I have a lot of respect for his game and the way he’s grown,” Dolphins coach Brian Flores said. “Obviously we’re competing against him on Thursday, but as a coach, watching guys develop and grow is a good thing to see. They’ve done a good job of getting him coached up. He’s done a nice job and he’s a very good player in this league.”
The Dolphins face another mobile quarterback twice a year in Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen, “but we’ve never played against this type of threat with his legs,” cornerback Byron Jones said. “I’ve watched film of this guy just juking an entire team. You don’t see that often from a quarterback. You just play ball. Just cover when you need to cover and tackle when you need to tackle.”
Though the Ravens are the top-ranked running team (161.6 yards per game) in the NFL, Baltimore has morphed into more of a passing team, especially on early downs. Jackson’s 10.1 yards of average throw depth and 8.3 yards per attempt rank first and sixth in the league, respectively. With a litany of option runs utilized in similar formations as their passing schemes, defending the Ravens becomes that much more difficult.
“I think first of all they do a great job with their scheme marrying their play actions with their run game, which is very extensive, their run game,” defensive coordinator Josh Boyer said. “Obviously, Lamar does a good job of being able to extend plays whether he makes a guy miss or just kind of gets out of the pocket a little bit. He’s able to keep his eyes down the field, he’s got a strong arm, makes good throws and then like I said, there’s been guys that they’ve had there for him that have made some good catches and good plays. It’s not that you’re just defending him in the run. You’ve got to defend their run game, him in the run, you’ve got to defend their pass game and then him in the pass. They make it extremely hard on opponents and like I said, it’s a big challenge for us.”
Like with Allen, Flores and Boyer are tasked with deciding when to play man against Jackson and risk him scrambling and when to drop into zone coverage to limit his running ability.
“He puts people on skates 24/7,” safety Brandon Jones said. “Hopefully I’m not in that position where he puts me on skates and I’m on ESPN Top 10 for getting shook. I think the biggest thing is to just keep contain and play our brand of football.”
And the Dolphins’ brand of football since Flores arrived has been to blitz and play man-to-man coverage. After relying more on zone coverage earlier in the season, the defense ranks second in blitz percentage, bringing extra rushers on 36.1 percent of opposing drop backs, according to Pro Football Reference. If Miami chooses to rely on man coverage, pass rushers need to stay in their gaps and prevent running lanes, and in the secondary, defensive backs have to be quick to adjust when Jackson breaks the pocket and toes the line between scrambling and passing.
If the Dolphins are in zone coverage, similar teaching points stand for the defensive line; Miami could also use a spy — possibly Baker or Brandon Jones — in the middle of the field to monitor Jackson’s movements and keep him in the pocket.
One thing is for certain.
“I’m going to be running a lot,” rookie outside linebacker Jaelan Phillips said with a smile.
