Heres why the Dolphins defense is on pace to accomplish historic first in 16-game NFL season

The had a historically bad defense in 2019, ranking last in points against. The 494 points Miami allowed was the fourth-worst in a 16-game season, as the Dolphins allowed an average of 30.9 points a game.Miami has pulled a complete 180 on the defensive side of the ball in 2020 and is on pace to go from worst to first in points per game allowed. Through the season's halfway point, the Dolphins rank first in the NFL in points allowed Derek Dietrich Jersey at 18.6. Since the 16-game season was installed in 1978, no team ever has allowed the fewest points in a season one year after allowing the most points. The Dolphins are on pace to achieve the task.While Miami still has half a season left in its bid to finish with the No. 1 ranked scoring defense, head coach Brian Flores -- the architect of these Dolphins -- isn't focusing Alex Wood Jersey on an entire body of work. In Sunday's win over the , Miami became the first team since the in 2006 to be outgained by 300 yards and win the game."I'm very leery about statistics right now because I look at the stats from yesterday's game and we gave up this many yards pa sing and this many yards rushing," Flores said. "When you look at it, it felt like we got dominated and I didn't feel that way during the game."Look, this is a week-to-week league. I'm not -- we've got to just focus on today and focus on improving today and focus on getting better in practice this week, and not worry about the statistics. Just worry about the next play and the next practice. Hopefully our guys understand that. We've got a tough opponent this Mike Moustakas Jersey week. We've just got to play good football, and that starts in practice."Flores' philosophy has the Dolphins' rebuilding proce s way ahead of schedule. The Dolphins are 9-7 in their last 16 games following an 0-7 start last season, and they've allowed just 22.3 points per game during the stretch, which has carried over to the 2020 season. Miami ranks in the top five in takeaways, pa s touchdowns allowed, and opponents' third down conversion percentage one year after Eugenio Suarez Jersey finishing in the bottom five in two of those three categories (takeaways, pa s touchdowns allowed)."I think the heart of it is the players," Flores said on the turnaround. "They are the ones who are out there on the field. They are the ones who are out there practicing and preparing. The credit goes to them."The credit goes to those guys. It's football and you're never really where you want to be. There Tucker Barnhart Jersey has never been a perfect game played. There is always room for improvement; but I do think these guys are improving. I think they're coming together. I think they are building relationships and I think you see that on the field. I think that's grown over the last year-plus. Hopefully it continues to grow. You can never get enough of that."