An ailing Dolphins defense faces more injuries in home loss to Bills
The Dolphins’ defense entered Sunday night’s regular-season finale against the Buffalo Bills a banged-up unit and left the matchup with more injuries to monitor entering the playoffs.
Outside linebackers Andrew Van Ginkel and Cameron Goode both sustained injuries that forced them to leave the game, a 21-14 loss for Miami. Neither played returned.
Van Ginkel injured his foot early in the third quarter and immediately walked back to the team’s locker room. The Dolphins said Van Ginkel was questionable to return and later ruled out.
Goode injured his knee during wide receiver Deonte Hardy’s 96-yard punt return touchdown early in the fourth quarter. Goode was carted to the team’s locker room and quickly ruled out.
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said after the game that Goode’s injury “doesn’t appear promising.”
The team is gathering more info on the severity of Van Ginkel’s injury, McDaniel said, but Van Ginkel’s agent told WSVN that X-rays for his client’s foot were negative.
Miami already entered the game, which decided the AFC East title, without its top two edge defenders, Jaelan Phillips (Achilles) and Bradley Chubb (ACL), who are out for the season. The injuries to Van Ginkel and Goode left the Dolphins with just two healthy outside linebackers, Emmanuel Ogbah and Melvin Ingram.
Ogbah was active after being a healthy scratch, while Ingram was playing in his third game after signing to the team’s practice squad in mid-December.
Safety DeShon Elliott also injured his calf in pregame warmups but started the game.
