Emmanuel Ogbah, a 28-yard sack and Miami’s improved pass rush seal 1st shutout in 6 years

Emmanuel Ogbah has a go-to celebration each time he drags down a quarterback for a sack. He shakes his right fist, then windmills his right arm forward, as if rolling an imaginary pair of dice. He punctuates it by leaping forward, arms outstretched to show off all of his 6-foot-4, 275-pound frame. Sometimes, he brings both his hands to his lips and blows a kiss to the crowd.

It’s becoming a familiar sight for the Miami Dolphins this year and Ogbah got to put it in the center of the frame Sunday in the fourth quarter of the Dolphins’ 24-0 win against the New York Jets. The Jets were inside Miami’s 30-yard line for only the third time all night and threatening to end the shutout when Ogbah hunted down Joe Flacco for a field-flipping sack.

“A couple of plays before, I missed him on one. I just knew he wasn’t going to get away from me this time,” Ogbah said. “I just saw him clear as day, so I just took my shot.”

Flacco backpedaled as safety Eric Rowe blitzed and applied the initial pressure. The New York quarterback spun once to sprint away from the safety and turned to see Ogbah rushing at him, too. Flacco kept trying to back away and the defensive end finally got to him for a 28-yard sack.

The Jets started the play on the Dolphins’ 29. They finished at their own 43, and punted for the 10th and final time in Miami Gardens.

“We were excited we made the play. We were mad it was Ogbah because no one really likes him like that. We’ve just got to deal with him on the team,” defensive tackle Christian Wilkins deadpanned. “No, that was definitely a big play. We were real hyped about that. Ogbah’s been working his butt off all year, making plays for us on defense, so it’s good to see when he can make plays like that.”

The 28-yard loss was one of two sacks for Ogbah at Hard Rock Stadium and he now leads the Dolphins (3-3) with five this season. He has recorded at least a half sack in every game this season and now has four total in the last three weeks.

The 26-year-old defensive lineman — who signed a two-year, $15-million deal in the offseason — is already just a half a sack away from matching a career best and he’s helping fuel Miami’s defensive turnaround, which culminated Sunday with the Dolphins’ first shutout since 2014.

“These guys like playing together, so when other guys make plays — whether it’s offense, defense, special teams — you see a lot of excitement, a lot of energy. Guys were excited for Ogbah to make a play, guys were excited about the situation —getting a stop, getting them out of field-goal range — and they were excited about the potential to get a shutout.”

The Dolphins’ season-opening loss to the New England Patriots was the only game without even half a sack for Ogbah, and Miami had just two sacks and six tackles for loss. In a Week 2 loss to the Buffalo Bills, the pass rush was even less effective and the Dolphins had one sack and no tackles for loss. Since then, Miami has won 3 of 4 and logged at least three sacks and seven negative plays — sacks plus tackles for loss — in each victory.

Those negative plays, combined with New York’s self-inflicted wounds, led to the Week 6 shutout.

In the first quarter, a penalty and fumbled snap knocked the Jets (0-5) out of field-goal range on their first trip inside the 30. In the third quarter, pressure by defensive end Shaq Lawson forced Flacco into an intentional grounding, which led to a missed 55-yard field goal. Ogbah’s sack ended the third trip and New York’s final attempt ended on a turnover on downs with 2:33 left to seal the shutout.

“The first game, we have to get used to working together, so I think it took us a little time,” Ogbah said, “but I think we’re on the right path now.”