One of the biggest disappointments of the season this year from the Miami Dolphins has been the regression of their defense. Last year, the Dolphins were a top-five defense, and they also led the league in turnovers and 3rd down defense, as well as one of the tops in points allowed. The Dolphins are ranked the opposite this year, but they are starting to come on in the last month, highlighted by their dominating performance against the Baltimore Ravens last Thursday.

After the first two possessions, the Dolphins’ defense completely shut down the Ravens running game, contained Lamar Jackson from running, and completely frustrated him and their passing. What has happened to the Dolphins defense for this turnaround?

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I would say the return of Raekwon Davis has been one of the biggest reasons. After he got hurt in the season opener, the Dolphins got gashed in their run defense. Since his return, the Dolphins defense has allowed over 100yds rushing once, and that was against the Buffalo Bills in which they had 102yds helped by a 34yd run by quarterback Josh Allen. The Dolphins, however, going into the Ravens, hadn’t faced a good running team. They had played the Jacksonville Jaguars, Bills, Atlanta Falcons, and Houston Texans, not very good running teams. The Ravens are the NFL’s number one rushing, so this is the biggest test of the season to date, and the Dolphins met the challenge.

The Dolphins have gotten improvement from their linebackers. However, the biggest reason has been their pass rush. On Sunday, the Dolphins got four sacks against the Texans, and Thurs night got four more, but the sacks aren’t the whole story. It’s more the constant pressure being put on the quarterback. Emmanuel Ogbah has constantly been putting pressure on the quarterback but has also been knocking down passes and is starting to get the sacks on the quarterback. He’s a free agent after the season, and the Dolphins need to resign him. Rookie Jalen Phillips has also been playing better. Now he only has 2.5 sacks, but he has been applying more pressure each week. Their blitz packages have also been more effective as of late.

The biggest emergence has been the play of their two young safeties, rookie Jaevon Holland and Brandon Jones. Holland particularly has emerged. Coach Brian Flores likes to bring the rookies along slowly, and with Eric Rowe and Jason McCourty playing, it made sense, but McCourty went down with an injury, and Holland got more playing time. You hate to see injuries, but McCourteys was probably a blessing in disguise because it allowed the Dolphins to play the rookie more. McCourty is at the end of his career, and the Dolphins drafted Holland in the 2nd round, so he needs to play, and he’s been all over the field. Whether he is blitzing off the corner, making a hard tackle, or making a big play on a pass. Holland has been a huge bright spot on this defense, and he’s only going to get better. Jones has been blitzing off the corner, and he has made some big tackles. With McCourty hurt and Rowe not playing well, the two young safeties have stepped up there, and it’s a great sign moving forward.

Along with the quarterback pressures improving, so has the turnovers. The Dolphins had four against the Texans, and they had two big ones against the Ravens, including Xavien Howard’s 49-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown.

The Dolphins are starting to hit their stride on defense, and if they can keep this up, they will have a chance to win more games. The schedule is lightening up the next four games, even though that doesn’t mean much, so the team will have a chance. If the defense keeps its play up it will have a bright second half of the season to try to salvage a disappointing season.