MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Credit the Miami Dolphins‘ defense for making the two stops they needed Sunday — holding the Los Angeles Chargers to a field goal and then a four-and-out on their last two drives.
But the truth is, for the game’s first 55 or so minutes, they looked awful, particularly on the ground.
No team allowed more rushing yards (234) or yards per carry (5.9) in Week 1 entering Monday night’s game than Miami.
And as expected, this failure was no orphan.
Miami Dolphins’ Defense ‘Need[s] To Be Better’
The pursuit angles were bad. There were blown assignments. The newness of Vic Fangio’s scheme for a group that employed basically the same system for the four previous years was apparent.
But more than anything, the Dolphins’ trench players simply got moved in a way that was shockingly out of character.
Monday evening, two of the team’s best defensive players were tasked with explaining what went wrong.
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“No excuses need to be made,” said Dolphins captain Christian Wilkins, who had three tackles — none for loss — in his 68 snaps Sunday. “We all know that wasn’t our standard, you know, and we got to play better defense, and that starts with me as an individual, as a leader.”
“As a leader of the defense, it starts with me,” he added. “So we’ll definitely be better this week and moving forward. We will definitely be better. No ifs and or buts about it. We’re about business moving forward.”
Christian Wilkins on what went wrong for the Miami Dolphins defense yesterday. pic.twitter.com/2JOnOrETNd
— Adam Beasley (@AdamHBeasley) September 11, 2023
It better. Because you can be sure Patriots coach Bill Belichick — who hosts Miami this weekend — has already identified all the defense’s breakdowns and is formulating a plan to exploit them in six days.
The Dolphins had a film study of their own on Monday. Fangio had a succinct but effective message for his group.
“We need to be better,” said safety Jevon Holland. “Plain and simple.”
They will be. It’s hard to be worse. The Dolphins gave up four touchdown drives of 75 yards or more Sunday.
They looked like a team that didn’t altogether know what it was doing. Some suspected there would be an adjustment period in Year 1 with Fangio, and Holland acknowledged that reality Monday.
“It’s completely different,” he said. “It’s a completely different defense with a completely different person with a philosophy. … Obviously, it’s going to be an adjustment period because it’s not the same human that was calling the defense last year.”
That human has his work cut out for him in the days ahead.