Dolphins standout earns huge honor after taking over in Week 11

After stumbling to a 1-6 start in which the defense often looked lost, the Miami Dolphins are fighting back in a big way — and one of their key leaders has earned some due recognition as a result.

Miami's thrilling 16-13 overtime win against the Washington Commanders in Madrid, Spain, took a tremendous defensive effort to keep the momentum on the victors' side. Although the Fins made a goal line stand of their own, Washington had two, but missed a game-winning field goal toward the end of regulation.

The reason the Dolphins were in it to win it in the first place, though, had a lot to do with the tone-setting, tackling machine at the heart of their defense.

Miami Dolphins' Jordyn Brooks earns AFC Defensive Player of the Week for Madrid masterclass

Dolphins linebacker Jordyn Brooks racked up 20 total tackles, including 10 solo tackles, in spearheading Miami's stalwart defensive performance across the pond. For his extraordinary efforts, Brooks was named Week 11's AFC Defensive Player of the Week.

I'm of two minds about this accolade for Brooks and whether it's merited. Let's start by playing devil's advocate.

First of all, Cleveland Browns superstar Myles Garrett had two-time NFL MVP Lamar Jackson seeing ghosts as he racked up four sacks against Baltimore. Garrett's individual performance kept the Browns within striking distance of the Ravens, only to culminate in a 23-16 defeat.

The fact that Miami won played into Brooks' favor. If you just box score scout him, it's obvious he had a big impact on the outcome. Nevertheless, any Fin Head knows that Brooks is a liability in coverage. Per PFF, Brooks allowed receptions on all seven of his targets for 87 yards and a TD.

Brooks is so elite as a run defender to make up for those numbers; it almost doesn't matter. He missed zero tackle attempts on Sunday, and only has a 3.9% missed tackles rate on the season.

That type of proficiency from Brooks at getting his guy to the ground is unheard of, at least to my off-the-dome knowledge. What's so mind-blowing is that it's not some small sample size. Brooks now has 125 combined tackles, which leads the NFL!

Jordyn Brooks is a stud. Say what you will about his shortcomings, but he's the soul of this resurgent Dolphins defense, and they'd be in a world of hurt without him.

Well-deserved Player of the Week honors overall for Brooks. Maybe if Garrett didn't take all that money to stay in Cleveland's NFL purgatory, he'd have easier access to his flowers.