Miami Dolphins Week 15 Snap Counts ... And What They Mean
Linebackers Kyle Van Noy and Elandon Roberts not only were back in the lineup to face their former team Sunday, they put in a full day's work for the Miami Dolphins defense.
Van Noy actually played all 55 defensive snaps while helping the Dolphins keep the New England Patriots out of the end zone in the 22-12 victory at Hard Rock Stadium.
Roberts, meanwhile, played a season-high 84 percent of the defensive snaps.
The Dolphins actually had five players on the field for every defensive snap — Van Noy, linebacker Jerome Baker, and defensive backs Xavien Howard, Byron Jones and Eric Rowe.
Van Noy and Roberts both missed the game against the Kansas City Chiefs and had been listed as questionable for the Patriots game.
Safety Bobby McCain, who also had been listed as questionable with an ankle injury, split snaps at safety with rookie third-round pick Brandon Jones. McCain played 31 of the 55 defensive snaps, while Jones got the start and played 32 snaps.
The Dolphins' other snap counts on defense were pretty modest, in large part due to the Dolphins offense controlling the ball for more than 37 minutes.
Among linemen, for example, Raekwon Davis led the way with 39 snaps, Emmanuel Ogbah had 33, and Christian Wilkins had 29, though Wilkins also played three snaps at fullback in goal-line situations along with his regular duties on special teams.
The Dolphins didn't use a lot of nickel formations on defense, which is why slot corner Nik Needham played only 32 snaps.
Rookie first-round pick Noah Igbinoghene was relegated to playing only special teams for the fifth time in seven games.
He was one of six defensive players whose only work came on special teams, along with Clayton Fejedelem, Kavon Frazier, Calvin Munson, Kamu Grugier-Hill and Sam Eguavoen.
On offense, the big mystery was to see how the reps at wide receiver would be split with DeVante Parker and Jakeem Grant both inactive, and it ended up being mostly a three-person show with Mack Hollins (70 of the 73 offensive snaps), Lynn Bowden Jr. (66) and practice squad elevation Isaiah Ford (54).
Rookie Malcolm Perry played 10 snaps, while Antonio Callaway got only two snaps as the punt returner in Grant's absence (though he didn't field either punt).
In his return to action after missing three games with a shoulder injury, Salvon Ahmed played 44 snaps at running back — not surprising given how effective he was.
Matt Breida played 19 snaps, but certainly made the most of them with 12 carries for 86 yards.
With Mike Gesicki out with a shoulder injury, Adam Shaheen (43) and Durham Smythe (42) both got extensive action.
Guard Michael Deiter, who had come into the game with only 64 snaps on special teams in the first 13 games of the season after starting 15 games in 2019 as a rookie third-round pick, played the final 23 snaps after rookie Solomon Kindley left the game with a knee injury.
The Dolphins had three players who were active but did not play: quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, running back DeAndre Washington and offensive lineman Adam Pankey.
