The theme of the Dolphins’ defense this season has been evolution.
Evolution sparked by the absence of cornerback Byron Jones and season-ending injuries to safety Brandon Jones and cornerback Nik Needham. The evolution that could take place with the team’s acquisition of outside linebacker Bradley Chubb.
The defense will again seek to adapt, this time to the loss of defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah, who sustained a season-ending triceps injury in the Dolphins’ win over the Cleveland Browns.
“Injuries are an unfortunate thing and you hate to see it for the guys that we’ve had go down this year,” defensive coordinator Josh Boyer said, “but the reality of it is we’ve got games on the schedule and we have guys that we feel very comfortable that we could put in. Collectively as a group, I think we can get things done.”
While Ogbah struggled to match the production of his previous two seasons and battled injuries until the torn triceps that will sideline him for the rest of the year, he was a member of a deep and talented defensive front. The Dolphins have already taken steps to add depth, bringing back Brennan Scarlett to the practice squad and signing veteran Justin Zimmer to the active roster.
Miami, though, is optimistic about its group of pass rushers who have continued to stack quality performances in recent weeks.
The Dolphins’ win over the Browns was arguably the defense’s best outing of the season, with the defensive front playing a starring role. Miami pressured quarterback Jacoby Brissett on a season-high 46.5 percent of his dropbacks, despite blitzing at its second-lowest rate this season. The team’s three sacks were its most since the Week 6 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
“I think there were some good things. I think we had some good individual rushes,” Boyer said. “I think we had some good games in there. We were able to play with the lead for a little bit, that kind of got them into certain situations where we knew it was pass. I think there were more opportunities out there where we were able to marry the coverage with the rush. Sometimes, it’s a coverage thing that helps the rush, and sometimes, it’s a rush thing that helps the coverage. There are a lot of variables that go into it. Obviously, we’ve kind of talked about this from week to week, but again, it’s a striving thing for us to just continually build and get better as we’re moving forward.”
The edge rush tandem of Chubb and Jaelan Phillips is one that continues to pay early dividends; both players were credited with a half-sack and multiple quarterback hits against Cleveland. But the absence of Ogbah could lead to an increase in snaps for Melvin Ingram, whose playing time has been cut after a strong start to the season.
The 11-year veteran was the Dolphins’ most disruptive pass rusher in the opening weeks of the season, earning AFC Player of the Month honors for September. He routinely played over 50 percent of the defensive snaps in the first five games before his playing time began to decrease. This coincided with outside linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel returning to form from an appendectomy and the team’s trade for Chubb on Nov. 1.
Even with limited snaps, Ingram has remained impactful. He played only 27 snaps in the Dolphins’ Week 9 win over the Chicago Bears but made a key sack late on quarterback Justin Fields, one of two take-downs in the three-point victory. Against the Browns, Ingram was again efficient, recording one sack, two tackles, and three quarterback hits in 34 snaps. Pro Football Focus has given Ingram the fourth-highest pass rush grade among edge defenders.
The Dolphins are especially intrigued with what they can do when the trio of Chubb, Phillips and Ingram are all on the field together. Each player has the skill set to rush from multiple positions, whether that’s as an on-ball linebacker, off the ball or lined up as an interior lineman.
Though a small sample, they have been on the field together for 17 plays. On those plays, the defense has allowed an average of 4 yards.
“I think we’re still evolving,” Boyer said. “I don’t think we’ve played our best ball yet, and I think we’re getting closer and closer to that.”
