The Miami Dolphins’ defense does not need one hero in Week 1. It needs a chain reaction.
Against the Las Vegas Raiders, the whole unit has to work in sync: stop the run, speed up Kirk Cousins, make the young linebackers matter, and hold up in coverage long enough for the pass rush to finish the job. That’s the formula if Miami wants to open the season with a surprise.
The first job is obvious: slow down Ashton Jeanty. The second-year running back finished just shy of 1,000 rushing yards as a rookie, then added five rushing touchdowns and five more through the air.
He’s the kind of back who can tilt a game by himself, especially with Brock Bowers out of the picture. Las Vegas will need Jeanty to carry a heavy load, because the receiver room doesn’t exactly scare anyone.
Tre Tucker led the group with 696 yards last season, and the Raiders will be asking Cousins to lean on the pieces he trusts most.
That’s where Miami’s pass rush comes in. Cousins spent last season as a backup in Atlanta, and Dolphins fans already saw what happened when Miami got after him.
The key now is making him uncomfortable again. If Jeanty gets bottled up, Cousins has to do more on his own, and that’s where the Dolphins can force errors.
Pressure has to show up early and keep showing up.
Inside, rookie Jacob Rodriguez is one of the biggest swing pieces. Miami clearly believes in him - enough to move on from Tyrel Dodson - but belief only goes so far in Week 1.
Rodriguez has to stay disciplined against Jeanty, not overcommit the way he sometimes did in preseason, and he has to hunt turnovers. If he can punch the ball loose and hold his ground on his side of the field, that changes the shape of the game for Miami’s offense, too.
And then there’s the secondary, which has to play better than people expect. Chris Johnson is reportedly set to begin the year in an inside role, leaving Jason Marshall Jr. and JuJu Brents on the outside.
The Raiders don’t have a bunch of burners, and Cousins isn’t the quarterback he once was. That points to a patient, methodical attack built on short throws, middle-of-the-field work, and steady chain-moving drives.
Miami’s corners can’t get beaten deep, and they have to be physical at the line to keep receivers from getting clean releases.
Even with Brock Bowers sidelined, the Raiders still have Michael Mayer waiting to take over at tight end, and he’ll draw attention of his own. But he is not Bowers, and that matters. If Miami’s front can generate heat and the coverage holds up behind it, the Dolphins’ defense has a real path to controlling the game.
In Other News...
Dolphins Draw A 49ers Team Caught In An NFL Scheduling Fight
The 49ers trip to Australia has already spilled into the scheduling debate, and it leaves Miami with an interesting Week 2 assignment. San Francisco asked the NFL to push its game against the Dolphins to Monday night so it could get a little extra recovery time after the long haul overseas, but the league turned down the request.
Instead, the Rams got the Monday night slot and the added breathing room, while the 49ers head into their matchup with Miami on Sunday. For the Dolphins, it means facing a team coming off an unusual travel week and then watching San Francisco settle into a stretch of three straight home games after returning from Australia. [Read more 🡒]
Dolphins Rookie Is Putting Early Pressure On A Bold Linebacker Bet
The Dolphins made a noticeable investment in linebacker Jacob Rodriguez, spending a premium second-round pick on him even with other starters already in the room. Since then, Rodriguez has started to justify the decision with the kind of traits teams crave from a modern linebacker, especially his feel for the ball and his work in coverage.
Miamis release of Tyrel Dodson only sharpened the spotlight on the rookie and suggested the club is comfortable moving forward with Rodriguez in a bigger role. Evaluators around the league see a player whose transition to the NFL could come quickly, and the next step is proving he can turn those early flashes into reliable production alongside the rest of the Dolphins front seven. [Read more 🡒]
Tua Tagovailoa Just Put Miami Fans On Edge Again
Tua Tagovailoa gave Miami another uneasy sight on Thursday when he briefly went to the ground during throwing drills because of what appeared to be a back injury. He did not take part in the team portions of practice afterward, and Cooper Rush handled all of the first-team reps in his absence.
It was a jolt for a Dolphins team already trying to get its quarterback through camp in one piece after Tagovailoa missed the first week with back spasms. With Week 1 looming, his status as the starter is suddenly far less certain than anyone around the team would like this time of year. [Read more 🡒]