The Phillips Injury Reaction and Aftermath
Along with satisfaction, there was a measure of sadness and frustration for the Miami Dolphins following their Black Friday victory against the New York Jets.
It all centered around outside linebacker Jaelan Phillips, who was carted off the field in the second half with an Achilles injury that head coach Mike McDaniel said after the game "doesn't look great."
Phillips seemed to confirm the worst fears with a social media post Friday evening.
The fear of course, is that Phillips tore his right Achilles tendon and will be done for the 2023 season.
The injury occurred without contact when Phillips started his pass rush in the second half of the Dolphins' 34-13 victory at MetLife Stadium.
After McDaniel went onto the field to check on the 2021 first-round pick, Phillips was carted off the field.
"He's the type of person and he has the right mind-set where he'll be able to turn anything that's perceived as negative into eventual positive," McDaniel said. "But this is going to be tough and trying for him as we get our information back and prepare ourselves for the worst-case scenario."
PHILLIPS' FRUSTRATING SEASON
The injury was the worst of a tough season for Phillips, who earlier had to deal with back and oblique injuries.
Finally healthy, Phillips was really coming on of late and he had 6.5 sacks, two passes defensed and one interception in eight games this season.
Before leaving the Jets game, he had a sack and almost came up with a safety in the first quarter when he was in the process of throwing Tim Boyle to the ground in the end zone before the Jets quarterback got rid of the ball in the direction of a receiver to avoid an intentional grounding call.
The sack gave him a streak of five consecutive games with at least one, and he had two in the 20-13 victory against the Las Vegas Raiders last Sunday.
Ironically, Phillips hadn't missed one game because of an injury before this season, playing all 17 games in both 2021 and 2022.
DISAPPOINTMENT, FRUSTRATION AMONG PHILLIPS' TEAMMATES
Phillips' injury came on the same turf where future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers saw his first season with the Jets come to an end — barring a remarkable return in December — after less than a quarter of play.
MetLife Stadium is not a favorite place when it comes to NFL players and that unforgiving turf — and the occasional non-contact injuries that it produces — is the reason.
"Especially playing on this turf,” Dolphins running back Raheem Mostert said after the game, "no player wants to go down with a significant injury. You saw what happened to [Aaron] Rodger the very first gam within the first series, it just sucks.
"For JP, I know he’s going to get his mental right and be back stronger and better than ever. But we’ve got to do something about this turf and this playing surface. Obviously, it’s still a major problem, even with trying to figure out what we can do. I don’t know. It just has to change.”
Jevon Holland, who said his late-game knee injury was "nothing" was even harsher in his comments about MetLife Stadium.
"My rookie year, my homeboy ended up going down, Jamal Perry," Holland said. "Kind of the same thing. I don't know the statistics or anything like that, but I do know that turf does increase your chances of getting hurt, so that field is trash."
