The Miami Dolphins’ decision this past April to draft Noah Igbinoghene in the 1st-round of the 2020 NFL Draft was one that raised some eyebrows — but it took all of two weeks for the decision to prove just how important the secondary is to these Miami Dolphins under the direction of Brian Flores. In a perfect world, cornerback Byron Jones doesn’t hurt his groin on the game’s first possession against the Buffalo Bills and Jones’ experience covering Bills receiver Stefon Diggs could have led to a vasty different result. But Jones did blow out his groin. And Stefon Diggs obliged by baptizing Igbinoghene with a barrage of routes. And receptions.
If the Dolphins were going to endure a loss in the secondary, the Bills are just about the worst team in the league to experience it against. The team is relentless with their depth at receiver and spreads the field to isolate matchups effectively.
But where the Dolphins go from here will be a big test of just how far this unit has come in a very little amount of time. The Dolphins will play again on Thursday night — so don’t expect to see much of Byron Jones, if any, against Jacksonville. Can Miami take that loss in stride? If so, consider it a testament to Miami’s commitment to getting their coverage right. The pass defense was sufficient against the Patriots before playing abysmal against the Bills. Igbinoghene may not draw a tougher assignment all year then being thrust into shadowing Diggs on a moment’s notice on game day. And in the long run, he will be fine. But Sunday afternoon was not his finest hour.
Xavien Howard will have to return to his ballhawking ways rather quickly to help the Dolphins absorb the loss — and Nik Needham must play an exponentially better football game in any additional snaps he takes in the nickel defense. Needham, a darling from 2019’s season, was ineffective on Sunday as well. Miami’s identity as a team is rooted in their secondary. They’ll need to start playing like it on Thursday, presumably without their best player, if the Dolphins are going to avoid falling to 0-3.