Miami Dolphins: 3 players with something to prove against Bengals

Miami Dolphins players with something to prove

2. Jaelan Phillips

After re-signing Emmanuel Ogbah during the off-season, and given the potential progression of now-second-year player Jaelan Phillips, the Miami Dolphins seemed poised to have at least a productive pass-rushing tandem. But through three games, the duo has combined for just one sack, and it belongs to Ogbah.

Outside of an outlier play or two, Phillips has been mostly invisible through the first three games of the season. He has a total of 4 combined tackles and has yet to record a sack or a hit on the quarterback, despite playing in 71 percent of defensive snaps.

Okay, maybe not invisible. There were a couple of instances on Sunday, including one of the biggest situations in the game, in which I found myself jumping off of my couch and screaming at Phillips for missing an open-field tackle.

He’ll have to regain his footing and find a way to be more productive. There will be times when the Dolphins will have to rely on their pass rush, and things aren’t looking great through the first three weeks. In fact, the safety tandem of Brandon Jones and Jevon Holland have one less sack than the rest of the defense combined.

Perhaps Phillips needs to channel his inner “Cameron Wake Against The Bengals In Prime Time” in order to make an impact on Thursday.