Defensive Front Four
The Miami Dolphins defensive front was a bit of a mixed bag coming into the season. On the one hand, you could reasonably assume that the pass rush would be good. Cameron Wake is one of the best to ever do it at the position, and they have a nice rotation of talent to support him.
On the other hand, there were real questions at the defensive tackle position. The Dolphins said goodbye to Ndamukong Suh, and the questions about who would replace him followed the team all offseason. After the first game against the Tennessee Titans, those questions seemed to be at least somewhat founded.
The pass rush was a relative non-factor against the Titans, in spite of knocking starting quarterback Marcus Mariota and starting left tackle Taylor Lewan out of the game. They came away from the game without a sack, and didn’t put much pressure on the quarterbacks to speak of. Things weren’t much better for the defensive tackles, as the Titans run game was solid.
But yesterday was a different story. Both the ends and the tackles came to play against the Jets, and it showed in a big way.
When all was said and done, the Dolphins defensive line left MetLife Stadium with three sacks, two from defensive ends William Hayes and Robert Quinn, and one from defensive tackle Jordan Phillips. The unit also added nine tackles for loss and were a force to be reckoned with all game. They even notched a pass deflection.
This is the type of performance Dolphins fans have become accustomed to from their defensive line. It was a stellar performance when they needed it most.
At times, it looked like the Dolphins offense was sputtering and that the Jets were going to mount a comeback, once again breaking the heart of Dolphins fans everywhere. But every time momentum seemed to be turning towards the Jets, someone on the defensive line made a play.
It was a refreshing change of pace and exactly what the doctor ordered.
Next Page: No. 2
