Much could be said about the Miami Dolphin’s 31-17 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. I won’t regurgitate what has already been said in the last twelve hours. Miami fans shouldn’t be hanging their head down over losing to good teams.
I remember a time in Miami when the Dolphins were incapable of beating teams, they were presumably better than. The fact that Miami handles teams with worse records without breaking a sweat shows how far we’ve come as an organization. The Miami Dolphins organization has prided itself on the 24-hour rule, whether a win or a loss. It’s time that fans do the same. Instead of focusing on the loss, let’s focus on what we can take from the loss. There was a huge positive that should excite Dolphin fans, and that’s the defense.
Dolphin fans have been waiting all season for the defense to show up the way it did last night. Miami’s defense racked up four sacks and created two turnovers against Philly, including an interception that I predicted would happen. They were able to get plenty of pressure on Jalen Hurts but could not get ahold of the elusiveness quarterback on a few plays.
In my humble opinion, that was arguably the Dolphin’s best game of the season, defensively. The front 7 played well against one of the best offensive lines in the NFL. Contrary to popular belief, I also think the secondary was fine, given they were without a few starters. This game was a good building block defensively, and we may be starting to see Vic Fangio’s genius peak its head. The Eagles were the number two offense coming into the game, and despite the score, I think Miami’s defense matched the Eagles’ intensity well. They still couldn’t find an answer for the “The Brotherly Shove,” but who in the league has?
If Miami’s defense can consistently play at this level and the offense can play the way it usually does, this could be a dangerous team. As Mike McDaniel always says, “It’s not about the opponent but about the team’s progression,” and the defense has certainly made strides since the beginning of the season
