×

MATCHES

  • NYJ

    3
  • ATL

    24
  • IND

    34
  • MIN

    6
  • DEN

    24
  • PIT

    20
  • NE

    16
  • OAK

    19
  • NYG

    24
  • MIA

    17
  • DAL

    22
  • WSH

    26
  • DAL

    22
  • WSH

    26
  • DEN

    24
  • PIT

    20
  • NE

    16
  • OAK

    19
  • NYG

    24
  • MIA

    17
  • IND

    34
  • MIN

    6
  • NYJ

    3
  • ATL

    24
  • NYJ

    3
  • ATL

    24
  • IND

    34
  • MIN

    6
  • DEN

    24
  • PIT

    20
  • NE

    16
  • OAK

    19
  • NYG

    24
  • MIA

    17
  • DAL

    22
  • WSH

    26
  • DAL

    22
  • WSH

    26
  • DEN

    24
  • PIT

    20
  • NE

    16
  • OAK

    19
  • NYG

    24
  • MIA

    17
  • IND

    34
  • MIN

    6
  • NYJ

    3
  • ATL

    24
  • NYJ

    3
  • ATL

    24
  • IND

    34
  • MIN

    6
  • DEN

    24
  • PIT

    20
  • NE

    16
  • OAK

    19
  • NYG

    24
  • MIA

    17
  • DAL

    22
  • WSH

    26

SIGN IN YOUR ACCOUNT TO HAVE ACCESS TO DIFFERENT FEATURES

FORGOT YOUR PASSWORD?

FORGOT YOUR DETAILS?

AAH, WAIT, I REMEMBER NOW!
Don't miss two huge championship matches, tonight on FOX SPORTS
  • TOP EVENTS
  • LOGIN
  • LANGUAGES
    • English English
    • Français Français
    • Español Español

Aficionado Al Deporte

  • OPINION
    • sportsbooks
  • INICIO
  • NFL
    • Scores
    • Schedule
    • Playoffs
    • Standings
    • Stats
    • Teams
    • Rankings
    • Rumors
  • MBL
  • NBA
  • NHL
  • NCAAB
  • GOLF
  • NASCAR
  • s
FAN SHOP
  • No products in the cart.

  • Home
  • How the Dolphins plan to defend Patrick Mahomes and the play after the play

Sports News

aficionadoadmin
Sunday, 05 November 2023 / Published in Uncategorized

How the Dolphins plan to defend Patrick Mahomes and the play after the play

  • Marcel Louis-Jacques, ESPNNov 3, 2023, 05:03 PM ET

    Close

      Marcel Louis-Jacques joined ESPN in 2019 as a beat reporter covering the Buffalo Bills, before switching to the Miami Dolphins in 2021. The former Carolina Panthers beat writer for the Charlotte Observer won the APSE award for breaking news and the South Carolina Press Association award for enterprise writing in 2018.

FRANKFURT, Germany — Walking around the heart of downtown Frankfurt, Patrick Mahomes is nearly everywhere you look.

The Kansas City Chiefs quarterback has a display at the adidas store in the MyZeil shopping center. His jersey hangs in most sporting goods stores, his face adorns nearly every piece of marketing the NFL has used in preparation for its Frankfurt debut.

He’s almost impossible to miss, but that won’t be the case Sunday.

As the Miami Dolphins prepare to face the defending champion Chiefs (9:30 a.m. ET, NFL Network), their main priority on defense is stopping the league’s reigning MVP.

Best of NFL Nation

&• PIcking the better Tyreek Hill
&• Can Hill or Brown catch Megatron?
&• 5 questions ahead of Eagles-Cowboys
&• Vikings focus on prepping Hall
&• Did Seattle hit HR with Williams?
&• OBJ still looking for first Ravens TD

“Just trying to keep him from having an unbelievable game,” defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said. “And try and hopefully limit the improvised plays, where he starts scrambling around, making great throws on the run, guys getting open, him pulling the ball down and running it for critical first downs. He’s really tough.

“You’ve got to defend the play they call in the huddle, which is hard enough, and then you have to defend the play that he creates after the first one breaks down a little bit.”

Mahomes’ career highlight reel is a series of extended plays, throws from difficult-to-replicate arm angles, and no-look passes.

It makes life difficult for opposing defenses.

Since his first season as a starter in 2018, Mahomes leads all active players in passing yards (16,187), passing touchdowns (121) and quarterback rating (69.4) when his time to throw is greater than 2.5 seconds. He’s a prolific off-script passer, to the point where even if a defense does everything correctly, he has a tendency to complete a pass or scramble for a first down.

Tyreek Hill has told Miami’s defenders that when a play breaks down and Patrick Mahomes is scrambling, find Travis Kelce. William Purnell/Icon Sportswire

“Yeah, obviously sometimes he looks like a magician with some of the things he does,” Dolphins linebacker Jaelan Phillips said. “But at the end of the day, you just have to be disciplined in your rush. I think that’s the biggest thing when it comes to edges at least, is keeping him contained, not letting him roll out of the pocket.

“It can definitely be very frustrating, because you can rush, win, do everything perfectly and he gets the ball off. Or you could be running around, he’s running around for five, six seconds and he makes some crazy throw to [tight end] Travis Kelce down the field. I think we have to expect that to happen and know that’s going to happen a few times during the game, but not let it discourage us. We just have to keep rushing no matter what happens.”

Former Chiefs receiver Tyreek Hill, now in his second season with the Dolphins, was often a benefactor of Mahomes’ ability to escape during their four seasons together.

Hill has offered one major piece of advice to his defensive teammates for when plays break down and Mahomes starts to scramble: Find Kelce.

“What I’ve been telling the guys to do is just find Kelce,” he said. “If you allow Kelce to get open, he’s like the energy of that team. Although Pat is all-world, if he finds Kelce and Kelce just catches a 2-yard pass, he somehow finds energy in that and gets that team going. They do a great job of it. And they did a great job of coaching it also whenever I was there. They got a whole PowerPoint on it and everything.”

Since 2018 Kelce leads all players with 296 receptions on passes that take longer than 2.5 seconds to attempt. The Dolphins will employ multiple coverages to limit Kelce’s impact, including possibly shadowing him with safety Jevon Holland or cornerback Jalen Ramsey.

“They’ve got weapons left and right,” Holland said. “They just get the ball to their primary guys when they need to, and they make it happen. Then of course, Pat Mahomes is special. He can scramble, extend plays, use his feet, use his mind, eyes downfield.

“It definitely adds a unique dynamic to their offense. … It’s exciting game-planning for them, because it’s something that you kind of don’t see a lot.”

Dolphins players and coaches insist there isn’t necessarily a specific key to stopping Mahomes — but to even have a chance at it, you have to stick to your plan even as the Chiefs’ plan evolves.

If your assignment is to cover, then cover, as linebacker Jerome Baker said, and if you’re supposed to rush, then rush.

When those lines get blurred, Mahomes thrives.

Editor’s Picks

2 Related

“Don’t try to do too much. It gets people in trouble,” Baker said. “If you’re a coverage guy and you’re trying to rush him — now you’re leaving somebody wide open. So just real simple, just do your job and we’ll be all right.”

The Dolphins’ defense has seen mixed results on extended plays this season. It has allowed the 15th-best quarterback rating (41.3) on plays with a time to throw longer than 2.5 seconds. Opposing quarterbacks sport the third-highest completion percentage over expectation on such throws (5.1%) and 10th-highest yards per attempt (8.4).

However, Miami also has recorded 26 sacks on such plays, which ranks fourth in the NFL, and has contacted the quarterback 55 times, which leads the league.

Linebacker Bradley Chubb said keeping Mahomes contained in the pocket is “way easier said than done,” and the Dolphins are prepared for him to find some degree of success Sunday regardless of what they do to slow him down.

But Miami also expects to find success of its own — as long as it remains true to its assignments.

“It’s not going to be an easy task, but that’s the goal,” Chubb said. “We might not do it every play. We might not do it half the plays. But at the end of the day, that’s the goal to keep him in that pocket. And even if we don’t, I know the guys on the back end are going to do their jobs to hold up, to reroute, to plaster and all that type of stuff. It’s more about team defense and not so much getting caught up in, ‘Oh, if he escapes the pocket, it’s going to hurt us,’ because he’s going to do that.

“He’s one of the best for a reason, so he’s going to do that. He’s going to be in those positions to make plays, we’ve just got to be in better position.”


Advertisement

What you can read next

Browns GM expects Watson to be ready for opener
Holdout over, Cowboys’ Martin ‘grateful’ for deal
Jags’ Robinson to return from suspension vs. Bills

Entradas recientes

  • Rodgers wants Reddick a Jet, cites ‘fun ride’ ahead
  • Vikings rookie QB McCarthy needs knee surgery
  • Parsons certain Lamb will play Cowboys’ opener
  • Adams returns to Raiders following birth of son
  • Chase not at Bengals practice amid contract saga

Comentarios recientes

No comments to show.
  • UFC
  • Olympics
  • Boxing
  • Tennis
  • Poker

Recent Posts

  • Rodgers wants Reddick a Jet, cites ‘fun ride’ ahead

    Rich Cimini, ESPN Staff WriterAug 13, 2024, 04:...
  • Vikings rookie QB McCarthy needs knee surgery

    Kevin Seifert, ESPN Staff WriterAug 13, 2024, 1...
  • Parsons certain Lamb will play Cowboys’ opener

    Todd Archer, ESPN Staff WriterAug 13, 2024, 06:...
  • Adams returns to Raiders following birth of son

    Paul Gutierrez, ESPN Staff WriterAug 13, 2024, ...
  • Chase not at Bengals practice amid contract saga

    Ben Baby, ESPN Staff WriterAug 13, 2024, 05:35 ...

Recent Comments

    Archives

    • August 2024
    • July 2024
    • June 2024
    • May 2024
    • April 2024
    • March 2024
    • February 2024
    • January 2024
    • December 2023
    • November 2023
    • October 2023
    • September 2023
    • August 2023
    • July 2023
    • June 2023
    • May 2023
    • April 2023
    • March 2023
    • February 2023
    • January 2023
    • December 2022
    • November 2022
    • October 2022
    • September 2022
    • August 2022
    • July 2022

    Categories

    • Football

    SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER

    Subscribe to our newsletter and receive our latest news straight to your inbox.

    SOCIAL MEDIA

    INFORMATION

    • UFC
    • Olympics
    • Boxing
    • Tennis
    • Poker

    WEBSITE

    • UFC
    • Olympics
    • Boxing
    • Tennis
    • Poker

    CATEGORIES

    • UFC
    • Olympics
    • Boxing
    • Tennis
    • Poker

    STAY CONNECTED

    • UFC
    • Olympics
    • Boxing
    • Tennis
    • Poker

    Made with love by Hogash Studios.

    TOP
    • English