Dolphins vs. Bills
Will defense finally step up for season finale?
Missed opportunities have been the story of the Miami Dolphins’ 2017 season as they head into their season finale against the Buffalo Bills, and there wasn’t a better moment to illustrate that than a play that took place the last time the Dolphins faced Sunday’s opponent.
It was third-and-5 on Buffalo’s first offensive drive the last time these two AFC East rivals played.
The Bills’ offense nickel-and-dimed the Dolphins all game two weeks ago in that 24-16 win, but none of those plays were more memorable than this missed opportunity.
Miami rushed four defensive linemen, and had tight coverage in the back-end of the defense with safety Reshad Jones shadowing Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor, who was coming off a knee injury.
Miami’s top pass rusher, Cameron Wake, beat the right tackle to turn the corner and had Taylor in his sights, but the elusive quarterback slipped the five-time Pro Bowler’s grasp and then evaded rookie defensive end Charles Harris with a shimmy to buy himself enough time to throw a 12-yard completion to running back LeSean McCoy.
Buffalo would score the game-opening touchdown four plays later in that critical Dolphins’ loss — a game the Bills never trailed.
That play provided one of the few instances rookie defensive coordinator Matt Burke criticized his unit this season, as he pointed out that he couldn’t have made “a more perfect” call, acknowledging that execution has been a major issue this season.
“When you have somebody lined up in your sights, you’ve got to put him down,” said Wake, who is one sack shy of producing his fifth double-digit sack season. “That’s
not a new concept. It’s an old saying, ‘Big players step up and make big plays in big games.’ ”
And that’s where Miami’s defense has fallen short this season, not making enough impact plays to changed the course of games, and possibly the season.
There were moments, like Jones’ win-sealing interception against Atlanta, and Bobby McCain’s leadpreserving fourth-quarter interception in Miami’s 31-28 win against the New York Jets. And let us not forget about the safeties and pick-six interceptions Miami delivered in it’s 35-9 victory over Denver.
But the unit that was supposed to show improvement after an offseason overhaul didn’t, and the defense’s struggles — especially late in the season — share the blame for Miami’s 6-9 record.
“We haven’t played good enough.” Burke said of his unit, which is ranked 28th in points allowed (24.7), 18th in yards allowed (337.3), 17th in passing yards allowed (227.8) and 15th in rushing yards allowed (109.5).
That wasn’t the outcome Miami’s decision makers envisioned after beefing up the defense through free agency and the draft in the offseason
Jones, a Pro Bowler, was returning from a shoulder injury that limited him to five games in 2016, and two safeties — T.J. McDonald and Nate Allen — with starting experience were signed. Plenty of reinforcements were added on the defensive line to give that group the depth.
And the starting linebacker unit got a complete overhaul with the exception of Kiko Alonso as Lawrence Timmons, Raekwon McMillan, Rey Maualuga and Stephone Anthony were added at different stages.
But the statistics produced haven’t necessarily been pleasing.
“I think obviously everything has been disappointing for us at this point of the year,” Burke said.
Only four teams have produced less takeways than the Dolphins (15) this season. Last year, Miami produced 25 takeaways.
Only two teams have allowed a higher percentage of red-zone opportunities to turn into touchdowns than the Dolphins (64.6 percent).
Miami allowed 2,247 rushing yards, which averages out to 4.8 yards per attempt, and gave up 12 rushing touchdowns last year. Only two teams were worse when it came to defending the run.
This year, Miami has allowed 1,642 yards, which averages out to 4.1 yards per attempt, but has allowed 13 rushing touchdowns. Overall, that’s the one area of improvement.
Last year, Opposing quarterbacks threw for 4,101 yards and 30 touchdowns, and produced a cumulative 88.5 passer rating. This year, the Dolphins have allowed 3,584 yards through the air and 25 touchdowns. Miami’s opponents have a 94.3 cumulative passer rating, which ranks Miami 24th.
“We didn’t play complementary football. Sometimes we got put in bad spots. And then when we didn’t play good we put the offense in bad spots,” Jones said.
“We still have all the right pieces in this locker room. We still have young talent and veteran guys in this locker room that are leaders. But sometimes it’s just how things go. This is a hard league to win in and it was one of the years.”