Miami Dolphins got away with terrible 3rd down defense

The Miami Dolphins won on Sunday 17-16 against the Patriots at Foxborough. They escaped with the win after allowing the Pats to convert multiple third downs. 

The Dolphins defense allowed New England to gain a first down on 11 of 16 third down plays. While the Fins won the game after a fumble was caused and recovered by Xavien Howard on the Patriots 36-yard line, their defensive performance overall was disappointing.

Mac Jones was starting his first NFL regular-season game but he seemed like a poised veteran. Of course, this was after a rough start where Jones’ first throw of the game went backward causing a live ball to hit the ground.

From watching the game develop the Miami defense could not find a way to consistently pressure Jones. This was evident from the success the Pats had on the all-important third downs, where they converted at a 68.7% clip. The best team last season on third down was Green Bay, they converted at a 49.7% rate.

Third down is crucial for the defense to stay strong and cause a fourth down that typically leads to punts. But allowing a team to continually succeed in gaining a first down will eventually lead to points.

The Patriots had eight offensive drives and scored on four of them. On the opposite side of the field, the Dolphins had nine drives and scored on three. The Fins third down conversion rate was 36.3%.

The stats tell a story of the Dolphins stealing a game versus the Pats on the road. This was not a “bend don’t break” defense, this was a “lucky we created turnovers” defense. Time of possession had New England controlling a ball for almost a complete quarter more than Miami, 36:43 to 23:17.

Time of possession is a direct result of the issues the Fins defense had on stopping the rookie Jones on third down who completed a pass on third downs for a first seven times. This area of the defense needs to be cleaned up if not expect a long season for the Dolphins.