Former South Carolina standout Melvin Ingram named AFC's top defensive player for September

The Miami Dolphins have been one of the darlings of the early NFL season with their undefeated record. It’s been their offense, though, that has garnered a majority of the headlines. That changed today when their defense got some love as DE and former South Carolina Gamecock Melvin Ingram was named AFC Defensive Player of the Month.

Through three games, Ingram has tallied six tackles, two sacks, a forced fumble, two fumble recoveries, and a touchdown. It may not seem like a ton, but the variety of ways Ingram is affecting the game likely earned him the second DPOM award of his career.

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This is Ingram’s first season in Miami after nearly a decade with the Chargers before splitting last season with Kansas City and Pittsburgh. The three-time Pro Bowler was drafted 18th overall in 2012 after four successful seasons in Columbia with 111 tackles, 21.5 sacks, two interceptions, and a pair of touchdowns off fumble recoveries.

The Miami defense has been at the middle of the pack thus far. However, it’s been impactful when it’s needed to be. Beyond the first half against the Ravens, they’ve held the New England Patriots and Buffalo Bills to the lowest scoring outings of their seasons.

While Tua Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill, and Jaylen Waddle continue to garner national attention, this is a big accomplishment for Ingram and Miami. It gives him his due credit for his production thus far as well as brings some deserved attention to the Dolphin defense. They got it done in the first month of the season and it’s now on them to continue it into October starting tonight against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Tua Tagovailoa expected to start vs. Bengals on Thursday Night Football

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is expected to start against the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday Night Football, according to Armando Salguero. He was questionable all week after dealing with back and ankle injuries he suffered during the Dolphins’ victory over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. If something should happen to him in Thursday night’s matchup, Teddy Bridgewater is the backup quarterback for the Dolphins.

A few days ago, Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel provided an injury update for quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. The update came after he left Sunday’s game with an apparent head injury but later returned. It was reported by Ian Rapoport that what looked like a head injury was actually a back injury for Tagovailoa.

Cameron Wolfe reported that according to Mike McDaniel, Tua Tagovailoa was still sore in his back and ankle. The team was still gathering more info from future tests.

Tua Tagovailoa’s ankle, which did not seem to be injured on the same play as his back, got banged up in “inter-trench warfare,” according to McDaniel.