Miami’s Secondary Faltered In Both Approach And Execution On Sunday
Photo Credit: Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports
Rarely, if ever, will you see a seven-day roller coaster ride in the NFL like what the Miami Dolphins just experienced. A week after dropping 70 points on the Denver Broncos, they got humiliated to the tune of 48-20 by the Buffalo Bills.
The offense was clearly not as good as it had been in the previous week — or weeks, for that matter — but it was virtually impossible for Tua and Co. to keep up considering the defensive performance. For a team that possesses the talent to contend for a championship, it’s hard to swallow giving up points on drive after drive.
Usually, losses teach more than wins in the NFL. For Miami, a better approach for the secondary sits atop their list of lessons learned. Unfortunately, the issue preventing progress may be a difficult mixture of lack of talent at the position, and the way in which that talent is utilized.
On Sunday, it became crystal clear why the Dolphins made an offseason move to acquire Jalen Ramsey. Kader Kohou is a solid slot cornerback and had been playing at a good level, but he doesn’t have the speed and physicality to match up against real WR1s. Stefon Diggs exposed that. Alone, the Bills’ star receiver generated 16.3 in total EPA, finishing the game with six receptions for 120 yards and three touchdowns.
Stefon Diggs beat Kohou like three separate times to get this TD 😬pic.twitter.com/KOviNvuXoZ
— Sam Monson (@PFF_Sam) October 1, 2023
“That’s not the type of game I wanted to play,” Kohou admitted.
But it’s not entirely his fault. It was an obvious mismatch, and one that Bills offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey took full advantage of. Being realistic, it was going to be hard to cover Diggs regardless of available talent. But with such a powerful offense themselves, the Dolphins didn’t need to stop Diggs and the Bills, they simply needed to slow them down. The Dolphins’ plan going into the game was to generate more pressure up front and, thinking they couldn’t match Diggs anyway, use soft-zone concepts to mitigate damage.
“I think there were a couple situations I know Kader would like to have back. But at the same time, I think there’s a lot of people that weren’t executing a lot of times late in the play,” McDaniel mentioned. “People can get blamed for getting beat down the field, but our expectation as a defense is to get home in those situations too.”
By the end of the game, the Bills had an astounding offensive performance: 100th percentile in EPA/pass, 99th percentile in EPA/dropback and EPA/play, and 96th percentile in success rate.
In theory Fangio could have used Xavien Howard to cover Diggs. But while Ramsey is out, it doesn’t matter how you cut it, the Dolphins don’t have a solid option at third cornerback, and the problem likely would’ve have just rotated elsewhere without schematic adjustments.
Eli Apple was supposed to be that third CB, but Fangio mentioned last week he was not happy with his performance. Apple didn’t have an injury designation going into the game but was inactive on Sunday. Justin Bethel, playing as a nickel corner, remained on the field for 67% of the defensive snaps. Kelvin Joseph, acquired from the Dallas Cowboys at the end of training camp, was the only other cornerback to see time with a mere 10% of snaps. Second-round rookie Cam Smith played only on special teams.
“I think the Buffalo Bills proved why they are the team that our whole division is trying to beat. They’ve won it for how many years in a row now,” head coach Mike McDaniel said after the game. “They made some adjustments, and we didn’t, so to speak. I think it was kind of compounding…I’ll start by making sure I’m doing right by the players, and us as a coaching staff, putting people in the right positions for success.”
The good news is McDaniel is saying all the right things as he leaned on his responsibility to adjust. The Dolphins’ defense had no shot on Sunday. Even if there was a vast talent difference, the plan wasn’t as sound as should be expected.
The silver lining is that the Dolphins will have lesser opponents in the next couple of weeks, facing the New York Giants coming off a short week and the Carolina Panthers.
But as a team with high expectations, Miami needs to be able to adjust and match up against the best teams. Throughout the season, the Dolphins will still face the Philadelphia Eagles, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Dallas Cowboys, and the Baltimore Ravens, plus whoever crosses their path in the playoffs — the Buffalo Bills could likely be part of that path. They will continue to find themselves up against teams with star quarterbacks and incredible wide receivers. Every team has their faults. The great teams are able to hide theirs while elevating the things they do well. Whether it’s through a change in approach, better execution on said approach, a free agent addition, or just improved play by the people in the locker room Miami must address one of their biggest deficiencies if they plan on contending this year.
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