Giants Present Perfect Get-Right Opportunity For Fangio’s Front
Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports
The Buffalo Bills put the NFL’s September darling Miami Dolphins on notice last week. Coming off a historic 70-point explosion against the lowly Denver Broncos the week prior, Ken Dorsey, Josh Allen, and Stefon Diggs reminded Mike McDaniel that they still know how to put up points with the best of them.
After giving up 48 points to their divisional foe, Vic Fangio’s Miami defense finds itself ranked 28th in points allowed and 26th in yards allowed. Let’s not forget the Dolphins were locked up in a Week 1 shootout where they allowed 34 points and 433 yards to Kellen Moore and Justin Herbert’s Los Angeles Chargers offense. Despite having a defensive front comprised of Pro Bowl edge rusher Bradley Chubb and former first-round picks Christian Wilkins and Jaelan Phillips, the Dolphins currently rank 22nd with a 21.2% pressure rate per dropback, according to Pro Football Reference.
Luckily for Fangio and his front, they draw the quintessential get-right matchup with the New York Giants and their downright embarrassing offensive line in Week 5. Daniel Jones has been pressured on a league-high 79 dropbacks this season and his 22 sacks are second to Washington’s Sam Howell (24), according to Pro Football Focus. New York right tackle Evan Neal “leads” all NFL tackles this season with 20 pressures allowed. To make matters worse, the Giants have been without starting left tackle Andrew Thomas the past three games. Their rookie center, second-round pick John Michael Schmitz, was also forced to leave Monday night’s massacre against the Seattle Seahawks after suffering a first-quarter injury.
Suffice it to say, this is the type of week that contract year players such as Wilkins circle on their calendar. Time to rack up the stats and let the representation take care of the rest once the time comes to get paid in a few months!
While being widely regarded as one of the better run defenders in the league, Wilkins could seriously stand to benefit by showing the Dolphins’ front office (and the rest of the league as an upcoming free agent) that he’s also capable of being a reliable interior pass rusher. So far this season, Wilkins has recorded an 8.3% pressure rate on 120 pass rushes, which is the best pressure rate he’s had since his rookie season in 2019. He’s currently tied for the 24th-most pressures (10) out of all interior defensive linemen this season. With a dominant showing against a vastly inferior opponent on Sunday, it will certainly help the resumé once free agency hits in March.
After the Dolphins traded their 2023 first-round pick and a 2024 fourth-round pick, and immediately signing him to a five-year, $110 extension last November, Chubb has been good-not-great so far this year. He leads all Dolphins defenders with 12 pressures, but his 9.2% pressure rate is well below t 11.7% career pressure rate that he entered 2023 with. The expectation coming into the season for Chubb was that being reunited with Fangio would help him return to his 2020 dominance when he recorded a career-high 13.5% pressure rate. But that just hasn’t been the case at the quarter pole of the season. What better time than now — especially if Thomas is forced to miss another start — for Chubb to revert to his typical game-wrecking self with a blowup performance on Sunday?
Phillips was reportedly close to returning in Week 4 for the Bills matchup after suffering an oblique injury against the Broncos, but McDaniel held him out. If he’s able to suit up on Sunday, it’s more than fair to expect him to be an absolute nightmare for Brian Daboll and his Giants offense. Phillips leads the Dolphins with a 13.6% pressure rate this season — albeit in only two games. At the conclusion of this season, Phillips is eligible to sign an extension after completing the first three years of his rookie contract. And believe you me, a well-placed stat-padding performance against the Giants could go a long way when his agent enters extension discussions with Dolphins’ brass in the offseason.
While filling in for Phillips, Andrew Van Ginkel has starred. In the two games Phillips missed, Van Ginkel amassed three sacks, nine pressures, and a 14.3% pressure rate in starts against the Patriots and Bills. With Van Ginkel’s emergence, the Dolphins don’t necessarily need to rush Phillips back. But let’s be real, some BDE from all of Fangio’s dudes up front against a lowly Giants opponent could be just what the doctor ordered for Miami’s current basement-dwelling defense.
There will be no shortage of motivation to run up the defensive highlight reel against a Giants offense that has already surrendered seven and 11 sacks to the Cowboys and Seahawks so far this season, respectively. And the opportunity to do so couldn’t come at a better time for Miami’s defense after last week’s thump job courtesy of the Bills.
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