MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — No Miami Dolphins defender was more responsible for the two long touchdown drives allowed late against the Tennessee Titans than Kader Kohou.
A review of the TV broadcast of Monday night’s historic collapse revealed that Kohou was most to blame of anyone in aqua and orange.
Titans quarterback Will Levis challenged Kohou almost every chance he got, and time and again, Kohou came up short.
Miami Dolphins Have a Kader Kohou Problem
Here’s the list of just the Kohou mistakes that our untrained eye observed:
- He let what would have been a game-clinching interception glance off his fingers early in the first of Tennessee’s two decisive possessions.
- He got shook by DeAndre Hopkins on the first of the Titans’ two late touchdown passes.
- He got picked on the ensuing two-point conversion.
- And he seemingly blew a coverage that allowed Hopkins to run free for a 36-yard catch-and-run by Hopkins on Tennessee’s game-winning drive.
If you were wondering what happened on that final De’Andre Hopkins play that got Titans into scoring territory on two plays, well….here you go.
Horrible play call IMO. pic.twitter.com/tVhIyR2i3H
— Omar Kelly (@OmarKelly) December 13, 2023
On that last point, Dolphins cornerback Jalen Ramsey — who was chasing Hopkins across the field — suggested that he expected help on that play.
“We got to execute a little bit better,” Ramsey said after the game. “I just got to continue doing what I got to do. Maybe be a little bit tighter, squeeze it a little bit more. And I got to watch the play I didn’t really see, but maybe we’ll hope for a little underneath help on that.”
Put it together, and Kohou was a liability Monday. Levis went 5 for 5 for 31 yards and a touchdown when specifically targeting the second-year corner, per Pro Football Reference.
But the sad truth is Monday wasn’t even his worst game of the year. Kohou got abused by Stefon Diggs and the Buffalo Bills in Week 4, allowing completions on 80% of balls thrown his way for two touchdowns and a staggering 20.2 yards per completion.
MORE: Mike McDaniel Must Make Dolphins’ Passing Offense More Than Tyreek Hill
Kohou on the year has allowed 62 of 75 passes thrown in his coverage area to be completed (82.7%) for 542 yards (8.7 per completion, 7.2 per target) and a team-high seven touchdowns. No other Dolphins defender has allowed more than two.
His 127.9 passer rating against is second-worst among Dolphins starters after DeShon Elliott (134.4) and sixth-worst among all NFL defenders with 10 or more starts.
His nine missed tackles (with a 13.2% missed tackle rate) are second-most on the team behind Bradley Chubb.
And yet, Dolphins defensive coordinator Vic Fangio keeps playing him — despite plenty of other options. Kohou’s 90.1% participation rate is the highest among all Dolphins defenders.
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So that reality — not to mention the fact that both of the Dolphins’ starting safeties (Jevon Holland and Elliott) are both hurt — makes it highly unlikely that Kohou will be benched completely this week.
But Fangio would be wise to lighten the workload, particularly since plenty of other options exist. Nik Needham was the Dolphins’ slot nickel for three and a half seasons before tearing his Achilles a year ago in October. But Needham is now 14 months into his recovery and is well enough to play on special teams. Why not defense?
Eli Apple was a healthy scratch in Week 14. And while he wasn’t great when he started for Ramsey earlier in the season, he was better than Kohou has been.
Then there’s rookie Cam Smith, the second-round draft pick who can’t seem to find his way out of Fangio’s doghouse. Despite injuries and ineffective play in the secondary this season, Smith has logged just 18 defensive snaps in 2023.
Fangio is adamant that he’s not going to play someone if he doesn’t trust them, and those three aforementioned backups seemingly don’t pass the test.
But what has Kohou done this season to earn Fangio’s unwavering faith?
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