A look at Dolphins playing time changes and how players graded out against Patriots
Position-by-position nuggets from the Dolphins’ 31-17 win against New England on Sunday:
▪ Defensive backfield: With Jevon Holland in concussion protocol and cornerback Xavien Howard missing a second game with a groin injury, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio opted against rotations at either position.
At safety, Brandon Jones (filling in for Holland) played all 53 of the team’s defensive snaps, as did the other starter DeShon Elliott. Jones, making his second start of the season, allowed only two pass completions in two targets for 11 yards, but one of those went for a touchdown.
At cornerback, Kader Kohou logged all 53 defensive snaps. Jalen Ramsey played 49 snaps in his Dolphins regular season debut — a bit more than expected.
Ramsey allowed just one of three targets to be caught, for 5 yards, with an interception — a 23.6 passer rating against.
Eli Apple was the third corner, playing 47 snaps; Kohou moved to the slot when Apple was in the game in three-cornerback looks. Justin Bethel played four snaps as the No. 4 corner.
Apple allowed four of five to be caught for only 30 yards, and Kohou permitted six of seven to be caught but for just 34 yards.
Also, Nik Needham — playing both safety and nickel cornerback — made his 2023 season debut with four snaps. Elijah Campbell didn’t play at all on defense.
▪ Defensive tackle: Nose tackle Raekwon Davis logged just 20 of the 49 defensive snaps. At 325 pounds, he’s the only behemoth natural nose tackle who’s playing much. Da’Shawn Hand, the only backup defensive lineman getting any snaps, is 297 pounds. Hand, for the first time, didn’t get any defensive snaps Sunday.
Agent Drew Rosenhaus, who does not represent Davis, said on his WSVN Fox 7 segment, that he wouldn’t be surprised if the Dolphins acquire a natural nose tackle before Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline.
Christian Wilkins played 46 snaps and Zach Sieler 45. Wilkins already has matched his career high with 4.5 sacks.
▪ Linebackers: Andrew Van Ginkel (14 defensive snaps) played less than usual. Two reasons for that: David Long Jr. is playing very well at inside linebacker and outside linebacker Jaelan Phillips is now healthy after battling an oblique injury.
And edge player Emmanuel Ogbah — who has the highest base salary on the team ($15 million) — received only six defensive snaps after playing just three against Philadelphia.
Long played 47 of Miami’s 53 defensive snaps, while Baker played 53 and Duke Riley one.
At outside linebacker, Phillips played 45 and Bradley Chubb 43. Chubb has four sacks in the past three games.
▪ Quarterback: Here are some of Tua Tagovailoa’s feats a bit less than halfway through the season:
1). He leads the league with a 108.8 passer rating.
2). He leads the league in passing yardage (2,416 yards) and is tied for the lead in passing touchdowns with Minnesota’s now-injured Kirk Cousins (18).
3). He’s completing 70.4 percent of his passes, which is fourth best, and his 8.8 yards per attempt is second best.
4). The Dolphins have won 20 of their past 28 games started by Tagovailoa and 20 of the 26 when he finishes the game without a concussion.
5). His 2,416 passing yards are the most by a Dolphins quarterback in eight games. Dan Marino had 2,309 in 1984, which is second most.
Per PFF, the Patriots blitzed Tagovailoa 23 times, more than double the average of opponents this season. He was 14 for 20 for 144 yards and two touchdowns against blitzes.
▪ Wide receiver: Jaylen Waddle (seven catches for 121 yards) and Tyreek Hill (eight catches for 112 yards) each played 58 of the Dolphins’ 77 offensive snaps.
The Dolphins gave 41 offensive snaps to Braxton Berrios, 23 to Cedrick Wilson Jr. (who caught a 1-yard touchdown) and 11 to Chase Claypool, who made his first reception as a Dolphin (for 15 yards) after playing four offensive snaps in his Dolphins debut at Philadelphia.
▪ Running back: Raheem Mostert logged 43 snaps, and No. 2 running back snaps were split evenly (19 apiece) between Salvon Ahmed and Jeff Wilson Jr.
Ahmed touched the ball six times. One resulted in a 20-yard gain on a reception. The other five other touches (including three receptions), lost 2 yards.
Wilson ran five times for 23 yards and caught two passes for 14 yards.
Fullback Alec Ingold played 25 snaps.
▪ Tight end: Durham Smythe logged 51 snaps on offense, Julian Hill 34 and Tyler Kroft 3.
▪ Offensive line: Right guard Robert Hunt played 27 of his 77 offensive snaps before leaving with a hamstring injury. He did not return and his status is unknown for Sunday’s game against Kansas City in Germany 9:30 a.m., NFL Network). Hunt allowed his first sack of the season before leaving with his injury.
Left tackle Kendall Lamm missed five snaps with an abdominal injury before returning; Kion Smith filled in on those five snaps.
The Dolphins can begin Terron Armstead’s 21-day practice window this week, if they choose. He has missed four games with a knee injury.
Lester Cotton played 71 snaps and Robert Jones 56. Cotton began the game at left guard but moved to right guard after Hunt’s injury, with Jones taking over at left guard. Both played well in pass coverage, per PFF; Cotton allowed one pressure and no sacks in 48 pass blocking chances, while Jones permitted no sacks or pressures in 37 pass blocking chances.
The Dolphins, as a team, allowed only two quarterback pressures for the game, per PFF.
THIS AND THAT
Pro Football Focus’ five highest-graded players on offense on Sunday: Hill, Claypool, Tagovailoa, Cedrick Wilson and Waddle.
PFF’s five highest-graded players on defense on Sunday: Ramsey, Long, Phillips, Apple and Chubb.
