The unit ranked in the bottom five of several important defensive statistics — points and yards allowed and turnovers produced — for the past three seasons with one exception, the 2018 season when Miami ranked sixth in turnovers produced (28).
Last year the Dolphins’ defense ranked last in points allowed per game (30.9), 30th in yards allowed per game (397.8) and 29th in turnovers produced in a season (18), and those bleak statistics have been the norm in recent years.
The last time the Dolphins finished a season with a top 10 defense was in 2014, when a Joe Philbin-led team featured the NFL’s eighth stingiest defense, a unit that allowed 20.