MIAMI GARDENS — It’s difficult to find someone harder on himself than Jaelan Phillips for missing what could’ve been a game-changing sack on Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert last Sunday on the play that ultimately turned the Dolphins’ fortunes sideways.
But some fans on social media are trying to give him a run for his money.
Phillips said he was “getting all type of crazy messages” on social media, which led him to delete the X app off his phone, after the critical play where Herbert slipped the grasp of Phillips. Herbert dumped a pass off to wide receiver Ladd McConkey, who evaded rookie safety Dante Trader Jr. for a 42-yard gain that set Los Angeles up for an easy game-winning field goal.
Had Phillips completed the sack against Herbert on the second-and-10 play, the Dolphins, after giving up a long kick return to start the possession, would’ve had the Chargers in a third-and-long.
Phillips, knowing the play could’ve helped the already-reeling Dolphins avoid a 1-5 start after the offense took a lead with 46 seconds left, took the play to heart.
“It’s definitely hard,” Phillips said at his locker Wednesday. “That’s something where it’s disappointing as hell, and I’d do anything to have that back. But you can’t do anything about the past, so the only thing that would be worse than that play itself is to let that linger and let that keep me from being present and getting better.”
Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver made sure to console Phillips immediately after the play on the sideline.
“I unfortunately have been in those shoes before,” said Weaver, a former defensive lineman in the league. “I remember one game when we were playing against Cleveland when I was playing, I missed a sack twice on the same play — brutal. Situationally for him, again it’s an awful spot to be in as a player because you truly feel like you let all of your teammates down.
“I told him, like, ‘The result of the football game never hinges on one play.’ I know that play is magnified because of when it happened, but we had multiple (opportunities) to win that game throughout.”
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Coach Mike McDaniel said of Phillips since the play transpired: “I think he’s hiding in plain sight. I get to see the maturity of a player live speed. … Sometimes, you can be your own worst enemy when you really want to do well and then you don’t. You can make your play worse and that’s something that more often than not, players in this league have to figure out how to continually take critiques and adjustments in their game and stay confident and press forward.”
Weaver broke down the play itself Thursday.
“I had the utmost faith in our pass rush that we can get there, and we did,” he said. “I think you’ve got to tip your hat off to the quarterback, No. 10, he stood there in the pocket, stood firm and must have hands like Shaq because he just didn’t fumble the ball the first time, obviously wiggled away from (Phillips). You hate that we missed that opp to potentially make a game-changing play.”
As for the coverage, Weaver said an in-play miscommunication led safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, who was playing nickel cornerback in those packages Sunday, to leave McConkey. Trader tried to pick him up and missed the tackle in the open field.
Phillips, the former University of Miami standout and 2021 first-round pick of the Dolphins, said he hasn’t even watched the play over again since it happened.
“I had a great rush, put myself in position to make the play, but just slipped off,” Phillips said. “I mean, there’s a lot of things that go into it. I need to hold him down. I’m sweaty. He’s strong, he’s big. At the end of the day, keep my eyes open, wrap him up, get him down.”
A fifth-year pro coming off back-to-back season-ending injuries to an Achilles and an ACL in his knee, Phillips has one sack and 17 tackles this season. He has come close to getting to the quarterback plenty more, with 11 pressures on the season.
“Amongst other plays this season, there’s a lot of things that you think about that haunt you in terms of plays you wish you could have made,” Phillips said, “but you can’t do anything about it except for use that as a learning experience. So kind of the mindset I’m having is I missed it that time, but maybe it’s a playoff game or maybe it’s the game to get into the playoffs and I have that opportunity again, I’m going to be better trained for it this time and I won’t miss it again.”
Phillips is playing a vital season on his fifth-year option, and with the Dolphins struggling at 1-5, his name is among those on the roster getting thrown around in trade rumors ahead of the Nov. 4 trade deadline.
An ESPN story Thursday proposed a deal with the Detroit Lions to get Miami a fourth-round selection.
“Look, I can’t do anything about that,” Phillips said. “All I can do is focus on improving, getting better every day and putting good stuff on film. Whether that’s the Dolphins keeping me, whether it’s another team getting me, that’s completely out of my control, so it’s not even something I spend my time worrying about. What I can do is try to do the best that I can for this team.
“I obviously love this team and this organization. I’ve spent a lot of time and dedicated a lot of effort and emotions to this team and organization, so ideally, I would love to just be able to do my job and help this organization out, and whatever plays out, plays out.”
