What’s the Miami Dolphins’ reward for getting tormented by the Chicago Bears’ No. 1-ranked rushing attack last Sunday?
The Cleveland Browns’ third-ranked ground game.
But after surrendering a season-high (by nearly 100 yards) 252 rushing yards at Soldier Field last Sunday, there is still reason for optimism for Miami’s run defense against another high-powered attack.
Quarterback Justin Fields was responsible for 178 of those rushing yards. Yes, that established a regular-season NFL record for a quarterback, but Miami has held its own against the traditional run game to running backs on early downs.
And that’s what Cleveland pounds opponents with between Nick Chubb, who is second to the Titans’ Derrick Henry in rushing this season, and Kareem Hunt.
“We do feel like that the traditional run game is something that we’re doing well, that we can build on,” Dolphins defensive coordinator Josh Boyer said this week. “Obviously, when there are breakdowns, either we’re out of our gap or there’s a missed tackle or there’s something of that nature.”
The Dolphins dropped from sixth to 15th in run defense after Sunday’s outing in Chicago. Even in the games prior, the Dolphins were stout, except for allowing Lamar Jackson to go off in Week 2 at Baltimore and a number of Josh Allen scrambles the following week. Does that translate to having trouble with getting tailbacks down?
“Sometimes it goes hand in hand, sometimes it really doesn’t,” Boyer said. “A lot of those scramble plays, you’re probably more often than not set up to defend the pass than you are the run. And then some of them that occur off of play-action, there can be displacement based on the offense doing misdirection or moving the pocket, so there is going to be a little bit of space. And then, obviously, it all comes back to the transition, rush lanes, if you’re in zone coverage, everybody’s got zone vision on it.”
New Dolphins edge defender Bradley Chubb said of playing the traditional ground game: “It’s more of a line up and play-what-you-see type thing. A scrambling quarterback is kind of like, whatever he sees, he’s going to take. But these guys, they do a good job too of taking what they can get, as well.
“We just got to be disciplined in our gaps and nobody trying to play hero ball, trying to play two gaps at once and knocking off a different guy. That’s when they crease you for 30 or 40 yards at a time. So, if we just play gap, fundamentally sound football, I feel like we will be fine.”
Nonetheless, there are some constants in stopping a ball carrier running downhill, regardless of position. And the Dolphins may have gotten away from some basics and core concepts when it comes to tackling and angles of pursuit defensively against Fields.
“It’s just trying to get back to the fundamentals, do what we’ve been doing all year,” outside linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel said, “whether it would be tackling, setting the edge, defeating blocks, just doing what we do best.”
Controlling Nick Chubb, the three-time Pro Bowl pick with 841 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns in eight games, poses a major challenge.
“You’d be hard-pressed not to call him the best back in the league,” Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said. “I’d be surprised that there’s a higher level of play. Simply because, he’s hard to tackle, and they hand him the ball, and you’re trying to stop the ball.
“He forces defenders to tackle him every play. And if you let up at all, he’ll have one of those rugby-scrum explosives where he’ll all of a sudden bust out. We’ve been very forthright with showing the players his best runs of really his entire professional career and to let the guys know what they’re in store for.”
Boyer has emphasized that it will take team tackling to bring down the 227-pound Chubb and 216-pound Hunt.
“That’s what the coaches always preach,” Van Ginkel said. “Run to the ball, and if you’re the second, third guy in, you can get punches at the ball, get turnover opportunities.”
Beyond Chubb and Hunt, the Browns are one of the best run-blocking teams on the line. They have five Pro Bowls between their two guards, Joel Bitonio and Wyatt Teller.
“It starts up front,” defensive tackle Zach Sieler said. “If you’re a good running team, it all starts with the O-line.”
Even if the Dolphins perform well against Cleveland’s traditional run game Sunday, they’re still going to want to do better against scrambling quarterbacks in the future.
“That starts with me. I’ve got to put the players in better position,” Boyer said. “I think that, when you look at it, you always reflect and go, ‘OK, if this comes up again, this is probably the route to go.'”
Added Van Ginkel: “A scrambling quarterback, everybody’s got to be accountable for him because, if he escapes the pocket, then defenders have to close in on him to try to limit explosive plays. Traditional running team, if you can be able to defeat blocks, we’re usually in pretty good shape. And then just running to the ball, getting 11 hats to the ball.”
