Report: NFL punishing Jaelan Phillips for play he made vs. Titans before he suffered season-ending injury

Miami Dolphins linebacker Jaelan Phillips is out for the remainder of the season after he suffered a partially torn ACL in a loss to the Tennessee Titans in Week 4. In that very same game, Phillips had a low hit on Titans quarterback Will Levis and will have to pay a fine as punishment.

Particularly when factoring in the news that Phillips will have to pay out of his pocket for the aforementioned low hit, there weren’t any extraordinarily positive takeaways from the Dolphins’ matchup against Tennessee.

The Titans headed into the contest with an abysmal 0-3 record, yet Miami’s defense wasn’t able to keep points off the board. Tennessee, despite totaling just 244 yards, scored 31 points against Miami after it mustered no more than 17 in any of its first three games of the 2024 regular season.

Running back Tony Pollard was maybe the star of the game for the Titans, as he ran for 88 yards and one touchdown on 22 carries. He wasn’t the only Tennessee running back to make an impact against Miami, though, as Tyjae Spears totaled 39 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown himself.

The Dolphins have now allowed at least 24 points in three straight games. During that same stretch, their offense has been abysmal, failing to score more than 12 points in any game.

Phillips missing the remainder of the season will only make life tougher for Miami’s defense. He accumulated six combined tackles, two solo tackles, four assisted tackles, two quarterback hits, two passes defended and one tackle for loss across four games played and three starts before his campaign was cut short.

The injury bug derailed Phillips in the 2023 regular season as well, as an injury to his Achilles ended his campaign early.

It should be interesting to figure out whether the Dolphins’ defensive unit will respond after a woeful performance against Tennessee in the team’s next game, which will come against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on Sunday.