Eagles

The Dolphins’ Defense is Totally Average

By Kevin Kinkead

Published: Oct 20th, 2023 · 12:38 PM EDT

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There’s been chatter this week of how the Eagles are going to slow down Miami’s offense on Sunday night. They’re a pretty gnarly unit, averaging 37.2 points per game on the strength of an outlier 70-point effort against Sean Payton and the hapless Broncos. We can ask, until we’re blue in the face, how the Eagles are going to slow down Mike McDaniel’s unit on prime time.

We also have to ask how the Dolphins will handle the Eagles’ offense. As good as Miami is offensively, they’re not the 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers on defense.

Some Miami stats for you, via SportRadar/PFF:

• 343.7 net yards allowed per game (20th)
• 26 points allowed per game (26th)
• 5 takeaways (tied for 22nd)
• 687 rushing yards allowed (19th)
• 114.5 rush yards allowed per game (20th)
• 4.09 yards allowed per rush (18th)
• 7 rushing touchdowns allowed (7th most)
• 8 passing touchdowns allowed (tied 14th most)
• 41% opponent third down conversion rate (20th)
• 16 defensive penalties (tied for 16th)
• 69.4% opposing QB completion rate (26th)

Where Miami stands out is in the typical Vic Fangio areas. They’ve only allowed 29 big plays this year, which is top half of the NFL. They are a top five pressure team while only blitzing at a middle-of-the-pack rate. You’ll see a lot of 2022 Jonathan Gannon-esque numbers when you look at Miami’s defense on paper.

But these guys are not world beaters. In three road games, they gave up 34 to the Chargers, 17 to Mac Jones and the Patriots, and 48 to the Bills. Their three home games saw concessions of 20, 16, and 21 to the Broncos, Giants, and Panthers. That’s Russell Wilson, Daniel Jones/Tyrod Taylor, and rookie Bryce Young.

Say what you will about the Eagles’ 14-point effort against the Jets. Two of the four turnovers were self-inflicted and New York’s defense had nothing to do with three drops and a missed fourth quarter field goal. Jalen Hurts threw for 280 in the loss and if Lane Johnson is indeed ready to go for Sunday, then Miami is a team you can absolutely run on with D’Andre Swift.

The formula here is simple. The Eagles need to get back to doing what they do. Move the sticks, control the clock, keep Miami’s offense on the sidelines. Run the god damn ball. The defense kept you in it last week against Zach Wilson, but you can’t put them in that same position against Tua and that elite offense.