A lot of things went right for the Dolphins’ defense in their 24-17 victory over the New York Jets on Sunday. However, one of the few mistakes came in the first half by one of the team’s youngest players.
On the Jets’ second drive of the second quarter, Joe Flacco ran a flea-flicker with Tevin Coleman that ended up in the hands of tight end Ryan Griffin. Edge defender Jaelan Phillips was trailing Griffin and rode him out of bounds. However, the rookie gave the tight end an extra shove at the end that gave New York an extra 15 yards.
It wasn’t a smart move, and Phillips took responsibility for the mistake during his media availability on Monday.
“I know better than that,” Phillips said, transcribed by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel’s Omar Kelly. “It won’t happen again. Something I got to own up to. Not great. Not smart.”
Phillips has played over 50% of the snaps every week since the Falcons game and has shown off his high motor in a lot of situations. This is a learning experience for him. He can’t make those mistakes because they will be costly against better teams.
