Dolphins defense showing improvement. Is it about them or this other factor? | Opinion
The Miami Dolphins defense got a vastly different result in the team’s victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars than it did the previous two weeks in losses to New England and Buffalo.
But this isn’t about the result.
Stuff looked different on defense.
There were only a couple of obvious communication breakdowns instead of perhaps twice that many in previous weeks.
The pressure on the quarterback was better.
The Dolphins made the Jaguars one-dimensional, forcing quarterback Gardner Minshew to throw 42 passes.
Miami was better.
And that’s what the Dolphins want because defensive coordinator Josh Boyer on Tuesday made the point the first month of the season is about getting better.
“The month of September in the NFL is really for improvement,” Boyer said.
So what was different below the surface of that Thursday night 31-13 win, Josh?
“I think it starts with a team win,” Boyer said. “All three phases we were able to play complementary football. We had good field position. We were able to win the time of possession, so the offense was moving the ball, they were scoring.
“And we were able to get some stops, get some turnovers. It was a good team win. I thought the players played hard. So obviously the results were a little bit better for us.”
Fair.
But here’s an alternate theory: The Dolphins defense played better and looked better because the opposing quarterback was just a guy.
Minshew might have statistics that suggest he’s worthy of being a team’s forever starting quarterback. But is anyone really buying that? Because he didn’t look like a franchise quarterback to me last Thursday night.
Against the Dolphins, Minshew missed four throws that showed he’s not it. And two of those throws cost his team touchdowns.
He missed a wide open receiver deep down the right sideline after Dolphins cornerback Noah Igbinoghene seemed to think he had the short zone and the safety failed to get over the top. The receiver was so open he was lonely.
And Minshew overthrew him by four yards.
Jacksonville’s QB missed on another deep pass, this time on his left sideline, to receiver Chris Conley. On the play, Conley had separation from Dolphins cornerback Xavien Howard but Minshew badly underthrew the pass, which Howard intercepted.
Those two missed throws not only cost the Jaguars touchdowns but also resulted in a turnover.
So was it the Dolphins playing great on defense to limit Jacksonville to 13 points? Or was it the Jaguars, specifically Minshew, not rising to a certain level that kept this from being a 31-27 game?
The answer is academic now because the result is the result.
But it matters going forward because what we’re seeing so far this season is the Dolphins defense struggle against good quarterbacks ... and have their one solid performance against a lesser light.
And looking ahead, that suggests major improvement is necessary because Russell Wilson is coming up Sunday and he’s a lesser light like the sun is a 35-watt bulb — meaning not at all. Wilson leads the NFL in touchdown passes (14) and quarterback rating (139.0) and is second in completion percentage (76.7).
So if Josh Allen and Cam Newton had good days against the Miami defense, what is Wilson likely to do unless the Dolphins defense seriously steps up its game?
It is, by the way, not just about the next game.
Look, this Miami defense cannot determine its success based on the quality of the opposing QB. If that’s the case, we’re looking at long afternoons against Wilson, Jared Goff, Patrick Mahomes, Allen (again), Newton (again) and possibly Jimmy Garoppolo if he returns from his high ankle sprain in time to play Miami.
At some point the Dolphins defense has to outplay greatness at quarterback.
They didn’t have to do that last week.
