MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Certainly, no one could have envisioned multiple Miami Dolphins players getting handcuffed on their way to Sunday’s season opener.
But the second-most surprising thing about Week 1? Just how little rust Jaelan Phillips showed in his first game back from a torn Achilles.
Week 2 Outlook for Miami Dolphins EDGE Jaelan Phillips
Phillips, in 34 snaps, had two tackles (including one for loss), a pressure, and perhaps the most significant sack of his four-year NFL career.
Phillips dropped Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence on Jacksonville’s final offensive play, giving the ball back to Mike McDaniel’s offense with a chance to win. Tua Tagovailoa and Friends did the rest, resulting in a walkoff 52-yard field goal by Jason Sanders.
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“How incredible is that?” Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver said. “There were times, obviously, when I was in the league, when you think about an Achilles injury, you’re like, ‘Oh man, like, is he gonna come back? How long is this gonna take?’ And for him to come back and look how he did, be as impactful as he was, just so incredibly impressed by him — the man he is, his sheer fight.
“I saw it in his rehab, and then for him to come back out there and just have the production and play the way he did, I call him the Mariano Rivera. He’s the closer for us, and he did that in that game.”
Anthony Weaver: They call Jaelan Phillips the Mariano Rivera of the Miami Dolphins pic.twitter.com/abUwZeViBA
— Adam Beasley (@AdamHBeasley) September 10, 2024
Added Dolphins linebacker David Long Jr.: “That man has a motor, and it shows. It shows that he was just eager to get back out there with the guys. It’s going to be a long season for these tackles, not going to lie.”
It’s unfair for the Dolphins to ask anything more of Phillips than what he gave them Sunday this early in the season.
But they might need to, as Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills are set to invade Hard Rock Stadium in two days.
Allen is a really hard guy to bring down. In four regular season games against the Bills, Phillips has just one sack, three hits, and one tackle for loss.
Presumably one of the reasons McDaniel hired Weaver to replace Vic Fangio this offseason? To figure out a way to finally slow Allen down.
“There are some things that really didn’t need to be said,” Weaver said. “As soon as the schedule came out and you saw this game, particularly a Thursday night game, Game 2, it’s one you kind of circle.
“So, it’s a short week, Thursday games aren’t easy for anybody, but this one’s going to be a little bit easier for our guys because of who our opponent is. It won’t require a lot of motivation from me. These guys will be jacked up to play and show who we are in front of a nationally-televised audience.”