Dolphins’ defense gets motivational words, then delivers vs. Patriots

MIAMI GARDENS — There was the Xavien Howard interception, the Bradley Chubb tackle and fumble that safety DeShon Elliott recovered, there was the sack of New England quarterback Mac Jones by linebacker David Long Jr., and there was also the Jones sack by defensive lineman Zach Sieler.

After what could be considered a major defensive stumble in a 36-34 Week 1 road victory over the Los Angeles Chargers, it appears the Dolphins defense has its swag once again.

The Dolphins defense was nasty, stingy and downright effective in Sunday’s 24-17 victory over the Patriots.

They had 4.0 sacks and eight quarterback hits.

As the story goes, Sieler was part of the reason, not for his actions during the game, but his actions before the game.

“Zach kind of hit us, the D-line, with some real (expletive) before the game,” defensive lineman Christian Wilkins said. “I’m not going to say what he said.” 

Apparently it was effective. 

Last week the run defense, which was No. 4 in the league in 2022 at 103.0 yards allowed per game, was trucked for 234 yards rushing by the Chargers.

They held New England to 88 yards rushing and 288 yards of offense.

This was the Dolphins defense many expected when defensive coordinator Vic Fangio was hired in the offseason.

This defense swarmed. It created turnovers. It got sacks. It made life tough for Jones and the Patriots offense.

“We have dogs all across the board,” Long said. “Once we start gelling and playing as one it’s going to be scary out there. I think you got a glimpse of it tonight.”

This Dolphins defense had confidence and attitude. Chubb and Sieler even sat down on the field, legs folded, in a sort of yoga pose after Chubb’s sack.

Chubb, by the way, was strong with seven tackles, one sack, two quarterback hits and a forced fumble.

It seemed as though everyone did something good defensively.

“I think we really hit the details,” safety Jevon Holland said of the difference between Week 1 and Week 2.

Holland had a team-best 11 tackles. Long, who was shaky last week, was strong against New England with seven tackles, one sack and two quarterback hits.

“Obviously the Chargers have a good offense,” linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel said, “but it left a sour taste in our mouths and we definitely came out with something to prove.”

This is the Dolphins defense that sometimes wrecked offensive game plans during training camp, recording days of 12 sacks and nine sacks, and once picking off quarterback Tua Tagovailoa three times.

They did their damage Sunday without edge rusher Jaelan Phillips, one of their top players, because he was sidelined with a back injury.

No problem. Van Ginkel filled in and recorded six tackles, one sack, three quarterback hits and one pass defended.

This is similar to how second-year cornerback Kader Kohou has filled in for All Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey, who is sidelined with a knee injury.

The Dolphins were 15th in defense last season.

There was a feeling the defense, which allowed 30.6 points per game on the road, 23.5 points per game for the season, and ranked 24th in the league in total defense, cost them a few games.

So the Dolphins got Fangio and Ramsey to fix the problem.

Ramsey, a likely future Hall of Famer, might not be back until December due to left knee surgery.

But the defense can’t worry about that. They’ve got to go with who they’ve got.

And those players got the job done against New England.

“Guys were relentless,” Wilkins said, “and hopefully it’s something we can build on.”

The Dolphins host the Denver Broncos this week. It’s their only home game among their first four games. The Broncos lost to Washington, 35-33, but they were in the game until the end.

The Dolphins defense knows it can’t take anything for granted. It’s trying to stay focused.

For example, New England was 7 of 15 (46.7%) on third-down conversions, 2 for 2 in the red zone, and 1 for 1 in goal-to-go situations. 

The Dolphins defense knows it’s good, while also being not good enough.

“There’s always room for improvement,” Howard said. “We have to finish growing. Our offense helped us out a lot last week so we had to come to play.”