Dolphins 2023 Week 7 Snap Count Observations

Durham Smythe, Christian Wilkins and Emmanuel Ogbah were ere among the Miami Dolphins with noteworthy playing time against the Philadelphia Eagles

What stood out about the Miami Dolphins snap counts from their 31-17 loss against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday night.

-- As a reminder, the inactives were C Connor Williams (groin), CB Xavien Howard (groin), CB Kelvin Joseph, TE Tyler Kroft and WR Robbie Chosen, with Skylar Thompson again serving as the third (emergency) quarterback in the event both Tua Tagovailoa and Mike White had gotten injured.

-- There were three players who were active but did not play: QB Mike White, T Kion Smith and DT Brandon Pili.

-- The five position players who saw their only action on special teams were LB Channing Tindall, CB Cam Smith, LB Cameron Goode, CB Justin Bethel and G Robert Jones.

DOLPHINS OFFENSIVE OBSERVATIONS

-- The Eagles dominated the time of possession in this game, and as a result the Dolphins had the ball for only 49 offensive plays compared to 72 for Philadelphia.

-- Playing from behind for most of the game, the Dolphins didn't use two tight ends as much as they normally do and because of that rookie Julian Hill played only 14 snaps along with Durham Smythe's regular heavy work load (45 snaps).

-- Guard Isaiah Wynn played only five snaps before having to left the game because of a quad injury and his replacement Lester Cotton ended up playing the final 44 offensive snaps.

-- At wide receiver, the big story was Jaylen Waddle being limited to 22 snaps because of a back problem, though he was able to finish the game.

-- Newcomer Chase Claypool made his Dolphins debut, but played twice as many snaps on special teams (10) as on offense (4), with Mike McDaniel saying after the game that was a result of the flow of the game because he had a package prepared for the wide receiver.

-- Jeff Wilson Jr. also made his first appearance of the season after being activated off injured reserve Saturday, but he got only seven snaps on offense as Salvon Ahmed remained the second option behind Raheem Mostert with 18 snaps.

-- After being elevated from the practice squad for a second time, TE Tanner Conner played only one snap on offense to go along with 10 on special teams.

-- Fullback Alec Ingold was able to play despite being listed as questionable because of a foot injury, but he got only 12 snaps on offense, likely the result of the Dolphins playing catch-up for most of the game.

DOLPHINS DEFENSIVE OBSERVATIONS

-- Four Dolphins players were on the field for all 72 defensive snaps: FS DeShon Elliott, CB Kader Kohou, LB Jerome Baker and CB Eli Apple. 

-- Safety Jevon Holland likely would have joined them, but he missed four plays for a quick concussion check after colliding with LB David Long Jr. in the open field in the second half.

-- Defensive tackle Christian Wilkins came close to playing every defensive snap, finishing with 69 of the 72. The percentage of 96 percent of the snaps was the highest of his NFL career since he arrived as a first-round pick in the 2019 NFL draft.

-- Fellow defensive lineman Zach Sieler, meanwhile, tied his career high of snap percentage with 90, playing 65 of the snaps.

-- After being limited to 30 snaps in his return to action against Carolina, Jaelan Phillips was given a heavier work load against the Eagles with 50 snaps, though still far fewer than Bradley Chubb's 65 snaps.

-- Andrew Van Ginkel finished with 43 snaps, though some of them came at inside linebacker after Long left the game because of his collision with Holland.

-- With Kohou and Apple starting outside, Parry Nickerson handled the nickel corner role and played 45 snaps.

-- The Dolphins stayed pretty much with the same groups on defense, which means six or fewer snaps for Duke Riley, Elijah Campbell, Da'Shawn Hand and Emmanuel Ogbah (he got only three snaps). Brandon Jones' only four snaps came when Holland was out of the game.

-- Ogbah's absence of playing time likely can be attributed to the Eagles' run-oriented offense.

-- We close with the special teams, where Riley again led the way in snaps with 19, tying with Campbell and Goode. The offensive player with the most special teams snaps again was Smythe with 12, followed by Conner and Claypool with 10 each.

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