Dissecting Brooks' Award-Winning Performance

The Miami Dolphins' dominant defensive performance against the Atlanta Falcons didn't go unnoticed, particularly the way Jordyn Brooks led the charge.

The linebacker was recognized Wednesday as the AFC Defensive Player of the Week after finishing with 10 tackles, including three for loss, and a sack in the Miami'd 34-10 victory at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

It's the first such award for Brooks, in his second season with the Dolphins after arriving as an unrestricted free agent in 2024. It's Miami’s first AFC Defensive Player of the Week accolade since linebacker Tyrel Dodson earned it for his Week 17 performance against the Cleveland Browns in the 2024 season.

Brooks recorded six of his tackles, the sack and the three tackles for loss in the first half, becoming the first NFL player this year to record such stat line in a single half and the first Dolphins player to do so since Ndamukong Suh against the Philadelphia Eagles in 2015.

THE IMPACT FROM BROOKS

With the Dolphins badly needing a win and a strong defensive performance against Atlanta, Brooks set the tone right from the start.

On Atlanta's second offensive play, he teamed with Jaelan Phillips to drop running back Bijan Robinson for a 1-yard loss and set up a third-and-10 for the Falcons.

With the Dolphins leading 7-3 in the second quarter, Brooks was the dominant player in a three-and-out that set up a short field and led to Riley Patterson's field goal that made it 10-3.

Brooks basically killed the drive from the start with a perfectly timed sprint through a hole at the line of scrimmage to drop running back Tyler Allgeier from a 3-yard loss on first-and-10 from the 4-yard line, coming close to recording a safety on the play.

Brooks then made the tackle on QB Kirk Cousins' 3-yard push forward on second down and teamed with Zach Sieler to stop Robinson after a 4-yard gain on third-and-10.

Later in the second quarter, Brooks sacked Cousins to turn a second-and-3 from the Atlanta 35 to a third-and-8 on a drive that ended with a punt. The Dolphins scored their second touchdown on the next drive to take a 17-3 lead into halftime.

Brooks' contributions were more modest in the second half, but the Dolphins were fully in control by then.

This was the fourth time this season that Brooks, who continued to lead the NFL in tackles, reached double figures in that department, but never before did he make this much of an impact on the outcome.

And it was just the tackles, but the physicality he brought from the start.

“He is relentless and disciplined," defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver said Tuesday. "Between him, Sieler, (Bradley) Chubb – those guys are the heart and soul of our defense. As he goes, we go defensively. I’m incredibly proud of the kid and the work he’s put forth since he’s been here. When I first met Jordyn when we signed him back in March, April of last year, that first lunch we ate together I think he said about five words. I was a little nervous. Got an inside backer that doesn’t want to talk much, we’re going to be in trouble. But eventually when you earn his trust he comes out of his shell. He’s outkicked whatever we thought he was going to be as a leader. He’s surpassed that.”                   

Against Atlanta, Brooks more than anything led by his actions.

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