3 things we learned from the Miami Dolphins victory over the Texans
By Matt Serniak
![Nov 7, 2021; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Miami Dolphins free safety Jevon Holland (8) celebrates by jumping into the stands after intercepting the football against the Houston Texans at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports Nov 7, 2021; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Miami Dolphins free safety Jevon Holland (8) celebrates by jumping into the stands after intercepting the football against the Houston Texans at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/https-3A-2F-2Fphinphanatic-com-2Fwp-content-2Fuploads-2Fimagn-images-2F2017-2F07-2F17114879-850x560-9dd94e3b3010c3d8ffd263bc06c0fbdd2d0357e6e24e6e233434931084009360.jpg)
Kudos to Brian Flores and or Josh Boyer for deciding that the game plan that was used in the Buffalo game was good enough to see an encore of. In that game, the Dolphins sent the house while playing man-to-man coverage behind it. It’s what they did, predominantly, last year and it had great success. Throughout this year, for whatever reason, they got away from that and played more zone with less blitzing. It was puzzling, to say the least.
Last week, they went back to last year’s approach and it rattled Josh Allen and the Bills for 40 minutes. Against the Texans, it worked tremendously for the entire duration of the game. Brandon Jones and Jevon Holland acted like heat-seeking missiles and made Tyron Taylor serve up a few INTS along with a fumble. Emmanuel Ogbah had his way with the Texans showing that he is worthy of a long-term deal. I don’t know, maybe the defense should have been doing that all year?
It was a rare instance of seeing something work and not just forgetting that strategy never to be seen from again. No reason not to keep bringing pressure while playing cover zero on the backend. I know that with Lamar Jackson that could create massive running lanes for him but at this point, why try and sit back in zone only for him to find running lanes anyways? Keep bringing the sink and let your high-paid cornerbacks make plays.