Josh Boyer steps out of the Brian Flores shadow to lead Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins defense is still the better of the two sides of the ball in Miami and Josh Boyer was a big reason Miami won on Sunday.

The Dolphins entered the game with a few questions that needed answering, on the defensive side of the ball but the biggest question was whether or not Josh Boyer could lead the unit without former head coach Brian Flores.

Let’s just say that Boyer is no longer in the Flores shadow.

Boyer called a great defense on Sunday and his team executed. As the game wore on, Miami got better defensively. It was as though the heat that wilted and broke down the Patriots only further pushed the Dolphins’ defense forward.

Boyer used a combination of blitz schemes including the Zero-Blitz and it netted three turnovers on the day. His defense kept the Patriots’ running game below 90 yards and kept Mac Jones guessing most of the afternoon.

Miami got two sacks on Jones Sunday including a strip-sack that resulted in a defensive touchdown. The Patriots only had two drives that were significant. Their opening drive ended with a Jevon Holland interception off a Xavien Howard break-up in the end zone, and their lone scoring drive that came in the second half.

Miami’s defense was stifling most of the day and it was clear after the first series that Boyer was ready to show he is more than capable of handling the job without the help of his former HC.

Next up is Baltimore and that will be a significant task for Boyer and the defense. The last time Miami faced Baltimore it was a catalyst to a winning streak that put Miami back in the playoff chase. The blowout victory was set up by a defense that was able to shutdown Lamar Jackson.

Boyer will need to coach another near perfect game to beat the Ravens in Baltimore next week. After Sunday, there is a lot more confidence that he can come up with another solid game plan.