Dolphins having trouble getting to QB, make surprise lineup decision. And personnel notes
So much has gone right for the Dolphins in this 2-0 start, but here’s one thing that hasn’t: the pass rush.
The Dolphins tied for fifth in the NFL with 48 sacks last season and seemed to bolster their pass rush with the addition of Melvin Ingram, who has 51 career sacks.
But the Dolphins are tied for 28th in the league with only two sacks this season; Emmanuel Ogbah and Brandon Jones had sacks in the opener against New England, and Miami didn’t have any sacks against Baltimore. Jones’ sack was a big one; it led to a Mac Jones fumble, which Ingram recovered for a touchdown.
The Dolphins tormented Lamar Jackson with blitzes in their game last November, sacking him four times. On Sunday, the Dolphins had no sacks and only five pressures in 19 blitzes against the Ravens, and Jackson threw all three of his TD passes against a blitz.
Christian Wilkins has no quarterback pressures in 44 pass rush attempts this season.
Jaelan Phillips had two quarterback pressures in 28 pass rushing snaps Sunday and two in 46 this season, though Pro Football Focus gave him very good marks against the run on Sunday.
Zach Sieler had two pressures in 23 pass rushing snaps Sunday and just two in 50 pass rushes this season, but PFF rated him Miami’s best defender against Baltimore, with Phillips second and Elandon Roberts third.
Ogbah had just one pressure in 21 pass rush attempts on Sunday.
Safety Jevon Holland and Jones — who blitzed a combined 38 times in the Thursday night game against Baltimore — rushed just five times combined Sunday, per PFF.
Ingram had two pressures in 21 pass rushing snaps against the Ravens; he played 32 of the 59 defensive snaps.
Linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel - who had four sacks and 45 pressures last season - didn’t play a defensive snap on Sunday after playing just seven in Week 1.
Coach Mike McDaniel had said Van Ginkel’s low snap count in Week 1 was the result of him being brought along cautiously after the removal of his appendix last month, and that he would play more as the season went along.
So Van Ginkel not playing any defensive snaps was a surprise. One apparent reason: The Dolphins played inside linebacker Jerome Baker quite a bit on the outside, with Duke Riley (31 snaps) and Elandon Roberts (40 snaps) playing a lot at inside linebacker. Baker played all 59 defensive snaps on Sunday.
Among those getting their first defensive snaps of the season for the Dolphins: Trey Flowers made his Dolphins debut, playing eight snaps, and Sam Eguavoen logged seven.
NOTES BY POSITION
▪ Wide receiver: Tyreek Hill — who had 11 catches for 190 yards on Sunday and leads the league in receiving yards (284) — became the only player in the past 10 years to score two touchdowns of 45 or more yards in the fourth quarter of a game. He left the game briefly with cramping and played 54 of Miami’s 71 offensive snaps.
Jaylen Waddle (11 catches for 171 yards) played 57 snaps and began Monday second in the league in receiving yards (240).
Sunday marked the fourth time in NFL history a team has had two players with at least 170 receiving yards in the same game. The last time it happened was in 2012, when Victor Cruz (179) and Hakeem Nicks (199) did it for the Giants against Tampa Bay.
Cedrick Wilson Jr. played 22 offensive snaps before leaving with a rib injury. Trent Sherfield logged 25 wide receiver snaps, River Cracraft 16. Cracraft caught his first NFL touchdown.
▪ Tight end: In a reversal from the opener, Mike Gesicki played more snaps than Durham Smythe (44 to 35) and caught all four of his targets for 41 yards and a touchdown. Smythe was responsible for allowing the Ravens’ only sack, per PFF.
Rookie Tanner Conner made his NFL debut and played one snap on offense and 15 on special teams.
▪ Running back: For the second week in a row, all tailback snaps went to Raheem Mostert (39) and Chase Edmonds (36).
Fullback Alec Ingold played 26 snaps and did an excellent job blocking; PFF rated him Miami’s fourth-best player on offense on Sunday, behind Hill, Tagovailoa and Terron Armstead.
▪ Offensive line: None of the starters allowed a sack; right side starters Greg Little and Robert Hunt permitted only one pressure, per PFF. Armstead, Connor Williams and Liam Eichenberg yielded two pressures.
▪ Cornerback: The Dolphins replaced Nik Needham with Kader Kohou to start the second half, and Needham didn’t play again until the final three plays.
Per PFF, Needham allowed one pass thrown in his area to be caught, for 12 yards. Kohou permitted both passes thrown against him to be caught for 25 yards. But Pro Football Focus rates Kohou as the league’s best cornerback through two weeks of the season.
Xavien Howard was targeted eight times and allowed five completions for 119 yards, including Rashod Bateman’s 75-yard TD.
At cornerback, Howard played 52 defensive snaps, Needham 26, Kohou 25, and Keion Crossen 20. Noah Igbinoghene, who was inactive for the opener, played seven snaps on special teams and none on defense.
▪ Safety: Holland played all 59 snaps, but Jones’ playing time dropped somewhat, to 38 snaps, with the return of Eric Rowe, who missed the opener with a pectoral injury. Rowe played 35 snaps and allowed six of seven passes in his coverage area to be caught for 62 yards.
ROSTER MOVE
As expected, the Dolphins signed veteran offensive tackle Brandon Shell to their practice squad. Shell has appeared in 70 NFL games and started 61. Miami released defensive tackle Christopher Hinton from its practice squad.
Here’s my Monday piece with nuggets on Tua Tagovailoa in the wake of his historic day.
This story was originally published September 19, 2022 at 1:43 PM.
