Kelly: Dolphins defense delivers game changing plays against Jacksonville when defense was needed

Everyone eligible for a mega extension from the Miami Dolphins — even the cafeteria lady — got one except starting safety Jevon Holland.

Emmanuel Ogbah got dumped by the Dolphins earlier this year, and was out of work for seven months until Shaq Barrett unexpectedly retired, leading to Miami re-signing their former starter.

And a little more than nine months ago Jaelan Phillips couldn’t get around without the assistance of crutches or a scooter because of an Achilles tendon injury he sustained in the best game he was playing on Black Friday.

Adversity is everywhere around us, and easy to identify if you’re looking for it, especially in football.

It’s people and players with the mental toughness to endure it who are the ones we label survivors, and those three Dolphins defenders get to claim that title because their efforts put Miami in position to seal Sunday’s fourth quarter 20-17 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Holland turned the tide of the game in the fourth quarter when he forced Travis Etienne to fumble at the end of a 10-yard run and cornerback Kader Kohou recovered it in the end zone.

“That had to be the play of the game,” Dolphins coach McDaniel said after the game, referring to the turnover that kept Jacksonville from going up 24-14.

“That’s how the game goes. Somebody has to start it off,” said Holland, who made two critical plays that led to Miami’s defensive victory. “We needed a turnover. We were down in the red zone and couldn’t let them score. I had to get the ball out.”

On the very next play quarterback Tua Tagovailoa found Tyreek Hill along the left sideline he tipped toed the sideline to outran Jacksonville’s defense for an 80-yard touchdown that closed the deficit to 3-points late in the third.

Then on the possession that followed kicker Jason Sanders tying the game 20-all with 4:22 second left in regular, the Dolphins defense stood firm.

Inside linebacker David Long Jr. stuffed Jaguars tailback Tank Bigsby run for no gain, setting up second-and-10, which is when Ogbah sacked Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence for a 4-yard loss.

And then on the critical third down play Phillips got to Lawrence, sacking him for a 6-yard loss.

Miami gained possession with 2:09 left in the contest and marched 31-yard downfield on seven plays before Sanders kicked the 52-yard game winning field goal as time expired.

The Jaguars gained 105 of the team’s 267 yards in the second half.

The Dolphins held the Jaguars to a 2-of-10 conversion rate on third down for the game, and Jacksonville was 0-5 on third downs in the second half.

It was a great way to rebound from a slow start in new defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver’s first game of calling plays in a contest that counts.

“There were so many different plays that made the game,” said Phillips, who was playing on a snap count. “That shows the character of our team. Bend but don’t break.”

It’s not about how you begin the game. It’s about how you respond, how a team handles adversity, and the Dolphins did that in the season opener.

Miami kept swinging and in the end, all three phases of the game delivered Sunday’s win over the Jaguars.

According to McDaniel, this is the type of game, the type of effort, the type of combat that build a team’s DNA.

“To keep an opponent, especially a talented one like we were playing off the scoreboard in the second half, to finish,” McDaniel said, referring to Miami’s defensive performance in the second half. “It didn’t happen in the vein of the vision early. What do you do about that? Much like the NFL season, what do you do when you get punched in the gut?”