The Troubling Dolphins Tackling Story

The Miami Dolphins were among the worst tackling teams in the NFL this season

Jacksonville Jaguars running back Tank Bigsby (4) runs with the football against Miami Dolphins linebacker David Long Jr. (11) during the third quarter at Hard Rock Stadium. | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

The Miami Dolphins overall had a solid season on defense, highlighted by finishing fourth in yards allowed, but not everything was perfect.

As has been mentioned before, the lack of takeaways and sacks were problems, but there also was another area where the team struggled. It's an area that's tougher to quantify unless analytics gets involved.

That issue was tackling, and the good folks at NFL.com analyzed every team in that department through NextGen Stats. And the research had the Dolphins coming in at number 28 among the 32 teams in terms of tackling efficiency. The Dolphins were given a D grade in tackling.

"The Dolphins' season could best be described as disappointing, and their tackling struggles were no exception," NFL.com wrote. "The Miami defense missed tackles at the fourth-highest rate in the league (14.5%) while allowing the fifth-most extra yards after those misses (1,019). An alarming 10 Dolphins defenders surrendered 50 or more yards after missed tackles, a total surpassed only by the Panthers (11). The unit also forced just seven fumbles all year, the third-fewest in the NFL. David Long Jr. was cut midseason after missing 17 tackles on 55 attempts and finished the season with a 68.3% efficiency, the worst by any player in Next Gen Stats since 2018, the year tackle data began to be tracked (minimum of 50 attempts)."

Long not only was cut, he was cut after starting the season as a starter and team captain and then being demoted.

According to Pro-Football-Reference.com's own analytics stats, the Dolphins didn't have a player among the top 45 in the NFL in missed tackle percentage. The players with the highest percentage, per PFR, were defensive lineman Calais Campbell and linebacker Chop Robinson both at 16.1 percent.

Long was at 15.1 percent, per PFR, during his eight games with the Dolphins and five with the Detroit Lions combined.