The Arizona Cardinals will face the Miami Dolphins in Week 9. Miami has the league’s best defense in terms of points allowed per game. One of their key contributors, defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah, is having a solid season. It is solid enough for him to be considered one of the league’s most underrated defensive players in the first half of the season, according to Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar.
Ogbah was a fine player for the Browns from 2016 through 2018, and for the Chiefs last season, but when the Dolphins signed him to a two-year, $15 million contract this offseason, Ogbah started to look like a different — and better — player in the multiple fronts and concepts assembled by head coach Brian Flores and defensive coordinator Josh Boyer. He already has a career-high six sacks, his 32 pressures is already more than he’s had in any season since 2016, and his 12 stops indicate that he’s not just a pass-rusher. Ogbah has had two signature games this season already — his two-sack game against the Jets in Week 6, and his performance against the Rams last Sunday, when his efforts on the Dolphins’ zero-blitz packages made life completely miserable for Jared Goff.
The Cardinals should be prepared for him.
Tackles D.J. Humphries and Kelvin Beachum have played well this season, especially in pass protection. The Cardinals have allowed among the fewest sacks and quarterback hits, and the rushing attack is the second-best in the league.
But Ogbah will be a player to watch this weekend as the Dolphins try and limit Kyler Murray and his production.
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