2026 Miami Dolphins quarterly report card: How much progress did the defense make in the second quarter?
The second quarter of the Miami Dolphins’ 2026 campaign is in the books. How did Miami’s performance on defense evolve?
The second quarter of the Miami Dolphins‘ first season under new head coach Jeff Hafley is in the books. There is plenty of work to be done in all phases for this football team. A 1-7 record is unsavory regardless of whether you’re in a reset or not.
How have things improved on Hafley’s side of the ball? He’s a defensive coach, so it feels only fair to start the assessment of his football team with what has changed with that unit.
2026 Miami Dolphins quarterly report card: Defense
Overall defense
Points per game (Games 1-4): 101 points
Points per game (Games 5-8): 99 points
Scoring is down…modestly. The points total is somewhat skewed by two things: the opponents and the average field position. Miami is averaging nearly the 39 yard line for all opponent drives combined in games 5-8, that’s nearly five yards worse than games 1-4. But the scoring IS down, even if it is down two points. Detroit and Cincinnati, two of Miami’s opponents in the last four games, rank 2nd and 3rd in the NFL in offensive points scored per game — so adjusting for opponents certainly aids the overall improvement beyond just a few points.
Verdict: Improved
Yards per game (Games 1-4): 335.5 yards per game
Yards per game (Games 5-8): 316.8 yards per game
Yardage is down a much more sizable number. And, like the points scored total, the Dolphins have played a wide collection of the the league’s top yardage offenses this season, too. As a matter of fact, five of the top eight ranked offenses in yards per game this season through SNF of Week 9 have played the Dolphins.
They didn’t get their fixings off of Miami, either. The Chiefs (ranked 3rd) logged their second-lowest yardage total of the season against Miami. Detroit (5th) had their lowest yardage output of the season. Cincinnati (7th) logged their second-lowest yardage total of the season against Miami, too. New England (8th)? You guessed it — their second-lowest yardage total of the year as well.
Verdict: Improved
Efficiency metrics
Yards per attempt (Games 1-4): 8.3 yards per attempt
Yards per attempt (Games 5-8): 7.9 yards per attempt
7.9 yards per attempt is not good, for the record. It ranks 25th in the NFL amongst all teams in their 5th through 8th games of the 2026 season. But it is a steady bit of progress from the 8.3 yards per attempt Miami posted in the first fourth games, which was ranked 29th in the NFL. The secondary just played their best game of the season against Detroit — and I’d say their second-best performance of the season game in Week 5 against the Bengals. Both games were in the second quarter of the season.
Verdict: Improved
Yards per rush (Games 1-4): 3.6 yards per rush
Yards per rush (Games 5-8): 3.9 yards per rush
This number went up, which ironic because I have felt the defensive tackles and inside linebackers have gotten better as the season has gone on. Jordyn Brooks, Jordan Phillips, and Zach Sieler especially. Nevertheless, any team should be able to make due with a sub-4.0 yards per carry average…if, of course, you’re playing well in other places.
Miami is, unfortunately, not there yet amid all the moving pieces on this roster.
Verdict: Regressed
Splash plays
Sacks (Games 1-4): 4.0
Sacks (Games 5-8): 8.0
Well, well, well! The sack number has doubled in the second block of four games. Some of this is a testament to Jeff Hafley feeling out his pressure packages. Some of this is a testament to the switch flipped by Chop Robinson. There’s still room to improve. But this figure is a nice step for a pass rush unit that created all kinds of concerns early.
Verdict: Improved
Takeaways (Games 1-4): 3
Takeaways (Games 5-8): 4
The number is better — but it’s still not enough. That’s the takeaway for many of the statistical categories we are exploring here. The consistency of the takeaways is the more encouraging development. The Dolphins secured a takeaway in half of their first four games and have logged one in each and every game in the second block of four.
Verdict: Improved
Expected Points Added
Defensive EPA (Games 1-4): -14.92 EPA
Defensive EPA (Games 5-8): -13.19 EPA
The irony of this statistic? The -13.19 EPA for games five through eight for the Dolphins this season is overwhelmingly skewed by the game against the Jets (-12.41 EPA). The game they won! The highest the EPA, the better — it infers the more “expected points” that unit has contributed across all of their snap opportunities.
Here’s something to watch: if you roll things back to include the Vikings game in Week 4, Miami ranks 19th in defensive EPA for all NFL team’s 4th through 8th games. I would suspect that shows up in a big way next weekend when Miami plays the Indianapolis Colts. Indy ranks 28th in offensive EPA this season. Miami has played five offenses ranked in the top-10 of this stat and six ranked in the top 12.
Verdict: Improved
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