Miami Dolphins defensive grade against the Los Angeles Chargers
The Miami Dolphins defense played well and was everything that it needed to be in their loss against the Los Angeles Chargers Sunday night.
The Miami Dolphins’ defense reminded me of the first car I ever had. I bought it when I was 18 years old. It was not pretty. It did not have all the bells and whistles, but it got the job done. It was everything I needed it to be.
The Miami Dolphins’ defense played well enough for the Dolphins to win on Sunday night. They did everything they needed to do to win that game. That performance was good enough to earn them a B-.
Christian Wilkins has continued to dominate games up front. Game in and game out he stops the run basically by himself. It was no different Sunday night.
He had nine tackles, two of those for loss, and he even had a sack. He has been the Dolphins’ best defensive player all year.
He should be a lock for the Pro Bowl.
Jalen Phillips played well too. He set the edge well against the run, and he was constantly putting pressure on Justin Herbert.
There was one player on the defensive line who did not show up though.
Where was Bradley Chubb? He only had one tackle. He got little to no pressure on the quarterback. It felt like he was not even there.
He has to show up going forward. He has the talent and ability to take this defensive line to the next level, which they need right now. There are so many injuries on the back end that the defensive line needs to step up to help cover for them.
I thought the other parts of the defense played fine. No one else really stuck out.
Jerome Baker was consistent, Jevon Holland played at his normal level, and Andrew Van Ginkel made a couple of big plays, but Xavian Howard seems to be less impactful this year.
He did not look like the lockdown corner we know him to be. He has been playing like an average corner. He will have to be better on Saturday when the Dolphins take on the Buffalo Bills.
Ultimately, as a unit, the defense played well. They had four sacks and held an explosive Chargers offense to just 23 points. They held the Chargers to field goals and got off the field on 4th down.
You can not ask for much more. If the offense had shown up they probably would have won this game.
The defense will have to stay at that level for them to have a chance against the Bills on Saturday.