Dolphins locker room sees Pro Bowl potential in Zach Sieler after 31-16 win over Giants
MIAMI GARDENS — A sweat-drenched Zach Sieler made his way into the Dolphins locker room on Sunday to high spirits restored after Miami’s 31-16 defeat of the New York Giants.
Fellow Miami defensive tackle Raekwon Davis gave his next-door locker neighbor a big smile and a handshake:
“That’s a Pro Bowler right there.”
Sieler responded with a hug, shaking his head in disbelief.
If you know his journey, it’s hard to fathom the 28-year-old’s name being in a Pro Bowl conversation. He arrived to Miami in 2019, freshly cut from the Baltimore Ravens and living in an RV.
Now, he’s a father-to-be with a three-year contract for $30.7 million as of August — and his teammates couldn’t be happier.
“Hell yeah. He’s balling out,” said defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah.
On track to exceed his career-best 3.5 sacks in 2020 and 2022, Sieler led the team with two sacks against the Giants, now carrying three heading into Week 6.
“I’m proud of him — how far he’s came. We just need him to keep going,” Ogbah grinned. “He’s always been a great teammate — the work ethic he has, he just makes people better.”
"They say that kind of stuff all the time," Sieler said. "It means a lot coming from those guys."
"It's just awesome given where we came from."
Bouncing back from Buffalo
Allowing 48 points to the Bills, Week 4 in Buffalo was a wake-up call for Miami’s defense.
Totaling seven tackles, three for loss, and three quarterback hits on Sunday, Sieler answered. So did Miami’s entire defense, which denied the Giants an offensive touchdown on Sunday.
"It feels good. We do need to get more turnovers though," Sieler said.
Most importantly, they managed an unscathed outing without prominent pass rusher Jaelan Phillips, who also was absent from the 48-20 loss to the Bills.
"We made the corrections on Monday, went in and learned from that," Sieler said. "It doesn't matter what happened last week."
Dolphins defense by the numbers
Nine players combined to post a season-high 14 QB hits on Giants starter Daniel Jones. As for Jones’ offensive line, three players exited the game, egos and bodies bruised by Miami’s physicality.
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For Tua Tagovailoa, Miami’s O-line gave up a single sack and two quarterback hits.
The Dolphins’ 7 sack-outing against the Giants tied for 9th-most in team history. Jerome Baker, who added eight tackles and two QB hits, split 1.5 sacks with Ogbah.
Knowing the Dolphins’ potential on defense despite criticism through the early part of this season, during the 2022 season and in recent years, Ogbah said “last week wasn’t us.”
“We had to help the offense out — just go out there and execute our game plan,” Ogbah said. “I’m happy we all just came together and figured out what we were struggling with.”
With 12:45 left in the fourth quarter, a sack by Andrew Van Ginkel — Miami’s seventh of the day — saw Jones leave the field for the day.
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The Giants only scored on a 102-yard interception return by strong safety Jason Pinnock and three field goals — 49, 37, 51 yards — by Graham Gano.
“Obviously, you give up 48 points, it leaves a sour taste in your mouth so we came together as a defense and told each other we had to play on, play as a team,” Van Ginkel said.
“When you can come out and put pressure on the quarterback, got DBs playing aggressive to really shut down receivers, you know that's what it's all about.”
Emilee Smarr is the high school sports reporter for the Palm Beach Post. She can be reached via email at esmarr@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Dolphins locker room sees Pro Bowl potential in Zach Sieler after Giants win
