Second-year Miami Dolphins safety Jevon Holland has been among the best players at his position in the NFL this season. A second-round pick out of Oregon back in 2021, Holland had yielded a 51.8 QB rating when targeted through six games heading into Sunday night’s outing against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett found that out first-hand late Sunday night in South Beach.
With Pittsburgh facing a third-and-3 at Miami’s 30-yard-line and the team down 16-10 with 3:06 remaining, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin opted to go for it rather than kick a field goal. That’s when Holland made a game-changing play.
Talk about reading the eyes of the quarterback and making a play for the ball. Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson didn’t have a shot on this play. Jevon Holland knew exactly where Pickett was going with the ball, and helped seal a huge win for a Dolphins squad that entered Week 7 having lost three consecutive games.
While Pittsburgh would drive down the field in the last seconds for a chance to come away with a win, another Pickett interception led to a hard-fought 16-10 win with Holland playing an important role.
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Jevon Holland already one of the NFL’s elite safeties
Holland, 22, had split time between cornerback and safety during his time with the Oregon Ducks. Prior to opting out of the 2021 season due to COVID-19, he also showed himself to be one of the best ball hawks in the nation. In his two seasons with Oregon, Holland recorded a combined nine interceptions.
Surprisingly, he fell to Miami with the 36th pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. After recording 10 passes defended, seven quarterback hits and two interceptions as a rookie last season, he’s now taken his game to a whole new level. That included picking off his fourth pass in 23 career games Sunday evening.
Miami has dealt with its fair share of injuries on defense thus far this season. Cornerback Byron Jones has not played a single snap. Xavien Howard has found himself limited throughout the first seven weeks and even missed a game himself.
Holland’s ability to play multiple positions while acting as the one constant in the defensive secondary has proven to be big. He’s played all but two defensive snaps this season, including seeing himself on the field for 92 snaps in a Week 3 win over the Buffalo Bills. He continues to perform well when tasked with both coverage and getting his feet wet in the run game.
- Jevon Holland stats (2022): 59.8% completion, 43.2 QB rating allowed, 34 tackles, 4 passes defended, 2 interceptions
If Miami is going to earn a playoff spot this season, the team will have to rely more on its defense than what we’ve seen thus far. That’s especially true when a talented offense goes missing like we saw in the second half Sunday against Pittsburgh (zero points, 121 yards).
If what we’ve seen from Holland is any indication, he’ll be more than up to the task continuing next week against the hapless Detroit Lions.