Yahoo Sports Dolphins swap out starting inside linebackers against Bills
The last time the Miami Dolphins faced the Buffalo Bills it seemed as if David Long Jr. was being picked on most of the game.
The inside linebacker was responsible for a number of the Bills’ biggest runs in that 31-10 loss, and the Dolphins struggled containing Buffalo’s two tight end sets.
That might explain why Long, a team captain and the Dolphins’ second-leading tackler, could be found standing on the sidelines for most of Sunday’s 30-27 loss to the Bills.
Anthony Walker Jr. replaced Long as the starting inside linebacker paired with Jordyn Brooks, and led the team with 10 tackles.
“It was more about [Walker] than anything else. We needed to get him on the field a little more and we collectively felt it would give us the best chance to get a win against this opponent,” Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said about his second player demotion in three years.
The demotion of a team captain came as a surprise, but makes logical sense for Miami’s defense because the Bills’ base offense is a two-tight end set, and a ton of Allen’s throws go to the tailbacks on check-down passes. While Long excels against the run, he has been a liability in pass coverage throughout his NFL career.
What was odd about the demotion was the fact Miami had three inside linebackers on the field for a play in the first quarter, and it was Duke Riley who came on the field instead of Long, who has been nursing a knee injury since training camp, but wasn’t listed on the injury report this week.
ACHANE SHINES
De’Von Achane, who is following up a dynamic rookie season with a productive second-year campaign, continues to deliver standout performances for the Dolphins. He’s presently the team’s leading rusher and leading receiver in 2024.
The former Texas A&M standout scored two touchdowns against the Bills. He gained 63 rushing yards and scored one rushing touchdown on 12 carries, and caught eight passes for 58 yards and one touchdown.
Beckham gets more involved
Odell Beckham Jr., who was signed this offseason to serve as Miami’s third receiver, caught his first pass in the first quarter, and finished his third game with the Dolphins with three receptions.
Beckham caught three passes from Tua Tagovailoa in the game and turned the first two into 12 yards. He then caught a 3-yard check down pass in the fourth quarter. He fumbled on that play but was ruled down.
Chop heating up
Chop Robinson, the Dolphins’ 2024 first-round pick, was responsible for at least four pressures on Josh Allen, three of which came in the first half. And Robinson recorded his first sack of the season late in the fourth quarter when he took down Allen for a 4-yard loss on the first play of Buffalo’s final drive.
The Dolphins had Robinson rushing wide against Dion Dawkins, which allowed him to consistently use his speed to get around Dawkins, a Pro Bowl left tackle. Unfortunately for Robinson, he was penalized for a neutral zone infraction on that same final drive he produced a sack in, which turned a third-and-14 play into a third-and-9 the Bills converted because of an unnecessary roughness penalty Jordan Poyer was penalized for when his helmet collided with Bills receiver Keon Coleman at the end of a pass Coleman couldn’t bring in.
Injury Update
Jaylen Waddle seemingly injured his left shin or ankle in the final three minutes of the fourth quarter when Bills safety Damar Hamlin inadvertently kicked his leg while defending a run play. However, Waddle returned to the game and caught a 7-yard touchdown to tie the game 27-27 with 1:38 left.
After the game Waddle said the injury wasn’t serious.
Alec Ingold, the Dolphins starting fullback, played despite a calf injury he was nursing all week, but he left the game in the fourth quarter because the calf injury flared up on him.
