Patriots-Dolphins DEFENSE Snap Counts: Who Played Most, Best?
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FOXBORO — Following their 20-7 loss to the Miami Dolphins in Week 1 at Hard Rock Stadium, the New England Patriots continue to take stock into their performance on both sides of the ball.
Having turned in a subpar performance on both sides of the ball, there are plenty of areas in which the Pats will seek improvement. While game-film analysis will be the main focus, a look at playing time may assist the team in helping devise effective strategies moving forward.
Here is a look at the Patriots offensive snap counts, along with some possible insight on New England’s future game-planning.
Defensive Snaps
On defense, the Pats overall snap count was 60 versus the Dolphins.
Patriots safety and team captain Devin McCourty (60) was the only defensive player to see the field for all 60 snaps on Sunday. As one of the team’s elder statesmen (McCourty is 35 years-old), his conditioning among the sweltering South Florida heat and humidity played a major role in keeping him on the field to direct the several newcomers on New England’s defense.
Fellow safeties Kyle Dugger (51 snaps), Adrian Phillips (27 snaps) also started for New England at safety, with Jabrill Peppers (18 snaps) relieving Phillips after he suffered an injury to his ribs in the second quarter. By and large, Dugger performed well, logging six tackles, two of which went for loss.
It was a less-than-stellar day for the Patriots cornerbacks, with starters Jalen Mills (58 snaps) and Jonathan Jones (47 snaps) on the perimeter and Myles Bryant (31 snaps) in the slot. While Dolphins wideout Tyreek Hill compiled 94 yards on earth catches, Jones’ speed and coverage played an integral role in keeping him out of the endzone. Rookie Jack Jones saw 11 snaps in limited action, as well.
Newly-minted team captain Deatrich Wise led all defensive linemen by playing on 50 defensive snaps. The Arkansas product provided some disruption on the edge, allowing interior linemen Davon Godchaux (35 snaps), Christian Barmore (33 snaps) and Lawrence Guy (32 snaps) to hold the Dolphins running game to 65 yards on 23 attempts, for a 2.8-yard rushing average.
Linebacker Matthew Judon was present for 82 percent of the Patriots defensive plays, the most of any player at his position. Though Judon aligned primarily on the edge, team captain Ja’Whaun Bentley played on 43 snaps throughout the field. Making his regular season debut for the Pats, ex-Dolphin Raekwon McMillan was on the field for 42 defensive snaps, mostly in the middle. Jahlani Tavai played a jack-of-all-trades reserve role, seeing the field for 17 plays, both in the middle and on the edge.
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