Perhaps the best word to describe the Miami Dolphins’ offensive line play on Sunday against the Buffalo Bills was, well, offensive. Miami couldn’t seem to get their hands on anyone up front from Buffalo — there were free runners in blitz situations but, even more alarming, there was free runs at the quarterback from defensive ends on numerous occasions; as offensive tackles Jesse Davis and Austin Jackson struggled to so much as touch Bills pass rushers all game.
When the game came to a close, the Dolphins had lost the game, their starting quarterback and any sense of dignity they hoped to reclaim after the prior demolition at the hands of the Bills.
Jackson conceded 8 pressures on the day. Jesse Davis, through 66 pass blocking reps through the first two weeks, has allowed 7. Miami’s line play certainly needs better talk up front and better execution from all involved; but their current offensive tackles are simply overmatched and overwhelmed. And head coach Brian Flores is apparently ready to entertain just about anything to get a fix; including changing personnel.
“I don’t think we did really anything well yesterday – offensively, defensively or in the kicking game. We’ve got a lot of things that we need to improve on. Specific to the O-line, I think it was communication, it was fundamentals and techniques that were an issue. We’ve got to play a lot better on the offensive line and really across the board offensively and as a team. That starts with me. We’ll do a better job of getting them prepared and ready to play. And yes, we’ll take a look at personnel and see if we need to make any changes to play better than we did yesterday,” said Flores.
A recommended start? Getting Jackson and Davis out of the lineup. Miami offers alternatives in both spots thanks to Greg Little and Liam Eichenberg — who would have to be abysmally bad to even sniff the poor level of play we’ve seen from Davis and Jackson to start the year. Of NFL offensive linemen with 50% of the league high in pass sets taken through two games this season; Pro Football Focus grades Davis as the fourth-worst pass blocker in football. Jackson scores as the eighth worst.