Tests confirm season-ending torn ACL for Chubb. And Dolphins notes on every position

The Dolphins envisioned their dynamic outside linebacker tandem of Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb wreaking havoc on quarterbacks in January and helping them win playoff games.

Turns out, they’ll have neither. Tests on Monday confirmed what was feared: Chubb sustained a torn ACL while trying to chase down Ravens running back Melvin Gordon late in Miami’s 56-19 loss to Baltimore on Sunday.

Chubb’s injury likely will sideline him for the start of the 2024 season; ACL injuries usually require a recovery time of 9 to 12 months for NFL players.

In an unfortunate coincidence, the season-ending injuries for Chubb and Phillips were both non-contact injuries.

Phillips tore his Achilles against the Jets on the day after Thanksgiving.

Chubb’s injury occurred with the Dolphins trailing by 30 and three minutes left in the game.

Coach Mike McDaniel said he decided to keep the players on the field but “I understand fully that it doesn’t look very smart at at all… The players wanted to go back in and play and finish the right way heading into next week. ... I would like a time machine for sure in that situation after the events occurred.”

This is Chubb’s second torn ACL but the first involving his right knee; he sustained a partially torn ACL in his left knee in 2019.

The loss of Chubb (who has a team-high 11 sacks) means Miami will need to rely on Emmanuel Ogbah, Melvin Ingram and Cameron Goode for the outside linebacker snaps opposite Andrew Van Ginkel, who has been filling in for Phillips.

Against Baltimore, Ingram surprisingly played ahead of Ogbah, who was a healthy scratch. Ingram logged 16 uneventful defensive snaps and didn’t have a tackle. Neither did Goode in five defensive snaps.

Ingram figures to be signed to the 53-man roster after Chubb is placed on injured reserve, in advance of Sunday’s regular-season finale against visiting Buffalo (8:20 p.m., NBC).

Ogbah, who has the highest base salary on the Dolphins this season ($15 million), has 5.5 sacks and 16 tackles in 200 defensive snaps.

Ingram - who had six sacks for Miami in 512 defensive snaps last season - hadn’t played in the NFL this season before joining the Dolphins’ practice squad in December. He has two tackles in 37 defensive snaps for Miami as a practice-squad elevation.

NOTES BY POSITION

▪ Quarterback: Tua Tagovailoa’s 71.9 passer rating against Baltimore was his worst of the season. But he will enter Week 18 leading the league in passing yards with 4451; that’s 171 ahead of San Francisco’s Brock Purdy.

If Cincinnati’s Jake Browning (eight starts) is excluded, then Tagovailoa also leads the league in completion percentage at 69.6. And excluding quarterbacks who have played fewer than 10 games, Tagovailoa is third in passer rating at 103, behind Purdy (113) and Dak Prescott (104.2).

The biggest concern is Tagovailoa’s left (throwing) shoulder, which was injured late in the game when he slid on a fourth down run.

“Ran, slid, there was contact,” Tagovailoa said of the play. “Shoulder is good, shoulder is good. Just a little sore; that’s all.”

▪ Running back: With Raheem Mostert sidelined by an ankle injury, the Dolphins gave 34 offensive snaps to Jeff Wilson Jr. and 33 to De’Von Achane, who ran for 107 yards on 7.6 per carry.

Achane, for the season, leads the league in rushing average among players with at least 50 carries. He’s averaging 8.0 per rush on 93 attempts.

Of the decision not to play Mostert, McDaniel said: “It was kind of unanticipated. He didn’t progress as much as he had in the past. He still wanted to go and didn’t want to hear that we were going to put him down.”

▪ Wide receiver: With Jaylen Waddle sidelined by a high-ankle sprain, the Dolphins gave a team-leading 59 offensive snaps to Cedrick Wilson Jr. - more than Tyreek Hill’s 50.

Braxton Berrios played 30 offensive snaps, River Cracraft 15, Robbie Chosen 13 and Chase Claypool 10. Claypool dropped a potential touchdown in the end zone, though it would have been a difficult catch.

Hill bobbled and couldn’t score on what should have been a touchdown.

▪ Tight end: Durham Smythe played 51 snaps and caught three passes for 54 yards. Smythe has 32 catches for 336 yards and needs three more receptions and 22 more receiving yards to set career highs in both.

Rookie Julian Hill played 23 snaps and had some good moments as a blocker.

▪ Offensive line: Per Pro Football Focus, tackles Terron Armstead and Austin Jackson and center Liam Eichenberg each allowed sacks on Sunday. Nevertheless, PFF rated Armstead and Jackson as Miami’s first and third best players on offense on Sunday, with Achane ranked second.

▪ Defensive line: Christian Wilkins played 53 of Miami’s 57 defensive snaps and had one tackle for loss on a quiet day. “I’ve got to be better on game day,” Wilkins said.

Zach Sieler missed a few plays with an arm issue but logged 46 defensive snaps and had Miami’s only sack; he has a career-high 9.5 sacks this season.

Raekwon Davis logged 37 snaps and Da’Shawn Hand 16. PFF rated Hand and Sieler as Miami’s best players on defense on Sunday.

▪ Inside linebacker: Duke Riley was the only Dolphins defensive player to play all 57 defensive snaps, while David Long played 48.

“I gave up that first touchdown and that’s something I usually don’t do,” Riley said.

Jerome Baker is eligible to return off injured reserve this week, but it’s unclear if the team is ready to have him begin practicing.

▪ Safety: Jevon Holland and DeShon Elliott played all but two of Miami’s defensive snaps. Holland seemed rusty after missing four games with sprained MCLs in both knees; PFF said he allowed all three passes thrown against him to be caught for 48 yards and two TDs.

▪ Cornerback: The Dolphins lost Xavien Howard to a foot injury after just four defensive snaps; Mike McDaniel will update his situation late Monday afternoon. [UPDATE: Howard is expected to miss at least one game, potentially more, with a foot injury.]

In his absence, the Dolphins initially played Kader Kohou as its No. 2 cornerback opposite Jalen Ramsey, with Kohou moving to the slot and Eli Apple to the boundary when Miami used three cornerbacks.

Eventually, though, it was Ramsey and Apple on the field when Miami went to two-cornerback looks. That’s why Apple played 48 defensive snaps, compared with 28 for Kohou. Ramsey played 55 snaps.

Apple and Kohou both struggled. Per PFF, Apple permitted three catches in four targets for 104 yards and a touchdown. Kohou allowed both passes thrown against him to be caught for 37 yards and a TD. Ramsey was targeted twice and both were caught, for 25 yards.

Nik Needham played five snaps and Justin Bethel two. Rookie cornerback Cam Smith did not get a defensive snap.