Raheem Mostert, Bradley Chubb, Andrew Van Ginkel highlight Miami Dolphins Snap Conclusions
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The Dolphins beat the Patriots, 24-21, on Sunday night.
Miami takes over sole possession of first place in the AFC East at 2-0.
Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa improves to 5-0 against Patriots coach Bill Belichick.
Tagovailoa is first in the NFL in passing yards and yards per attempt. He’s fourth in the NFL in passing touchdowns and seventh in passer rating.
Among the standouts on Sunday night: Bradley Chubb, Andrew Van Ginkel, Raheem Mostert, Christian Wilkins, and David Long.
Here are some interesting snap count conclusions from the post-game box score:
RB Raheem Mostert 46 snaps, 73 percent – Mostert, 31, had one of the fastest runs of the NFL season on his 43-yard touchdown. Mostert topped 100 yards. Salvon Ahmed and De’Von Achane totaled only 18 snaps. Mostert is going to hold it down, at least until Jeff Wilson returns in Week 5 to help.
LB Bradley Chubb 67 snaps, 91 percent – Chubb may have heard that NBC analyst Rodney Harrison said he had been “average” since signing with the Dolphins. Chubb had his best game in aqua and orange, forcing a critical fumble and adding two tackles for loss and sack. Chubb played almost all snaps, with Jaelan Phillips sidelined with a back injury.
Dolphins edge rusher Bradley Chubb vowed to be more active against the Patriots
LB Andrew Van Ginkel 65 snaps, 88 percent – Van Ginkel played like his hair was on fire. It would have been very hard to project 65 edge rush snaps for Van Ginkel and only 16 for Emmanuel Ogbah. But clearly defensive coordinator Vic Fangio has a certain affinity for AVG’s relentless pursuit. It will be interesting to see if Van Ginkel continues to receive edge reps when Miami is healthier, or if he shifts back inside.
Andrew Van Ginkel excels with Jaelan Phillips injury sidelining Dolphins star
LB David Long 62 snaps, 84 percent – Long received a huge uptick in snaps from Week 1. He had said that the coaches wanted to see consistency and Fangio had said it was a week-to-week decision on playing time. With Van Ginkel moving outside, Long was able to post 7 tackles, 1 sack and 2 quarterback hits.
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WR Braxton Berrios 21 snaps, 33 percent – This was a downtick for Berrios. Erik Ezukanma had 10 snaps, but posted no catches on one target and only five yards on three rushing attempts. Durham Smythe played 97 percent of snaps at tight end. But it’s clear Mike McDaniel is willing, at times, to lean on fullback Alec Ingold (38 snaps) and receiver River Cracraft (18 snaps) to help boost the run game.
Joe Schad is a journalist at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at [email protected] and follow him on social media platforms @schadjoe. Sign up for Joe’s free weekly Dolphins Pulse Newsletter. Help support our work by subscribing.
