Dolphins DE Charles Harris displays both quickness and power in a ‘relentless’ outing against Tampa Bay.

DAVIE — The stat sheet hasn’t been kind to defensive end Charles Harris since he arrived two years ago as a first-round draft pick, and even on this night, it was no different.

True, the final numbers had Harris with four tackles and 1.5 sacks against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but even that doesn’t do justice to his performance — the type of performance the Dolphins have been waiting for.

When Harris stopped running back Peyton Barber for a 2-yard gain in the first quarter, he was just warming up. By the time the series ended with a punt, Harris had made four plays within a span of six snaps.

Harris also ran across the field to chase down Jameis Winston after a 5-yard scramble, pressured Winston into an incompletion and, after Jerome Baker started to bring down Winston, Harris finished him for an 11-yard sack.

But: A penalty on cornerback Jamal Wiltz denied Harris credit for stopping the scramble. The official statistician opted to split the sack between Harris and Baker.

"Yeah, Bake’s stealing them," Harris said Monday in mock protest. "He’s trying to steal something, man. But it’s all good. As long as we get ’em down, that’s all that matters."

For the Dolphins, there were plenty of aspects to like about what Harris accomplished.

Harris had to deal with two blockers on the sack, beating tackle Donovan Smith and fending off a chip by guard Ali Marpet.

That demanded power.

"Being relentless on the edge," he said.

In the second quarter, Harris sacked Blaine Gabbert for a 5-yard loss after blowing past tackle Cole Boozer, who barely touched him.

That was all about quickness.

"Just good get-off," Harris said.

Friday night, Harris matched his career high for tackles in a regular-season game despite playing only 30 snaps.

"I thought Charles Harris played really well the other night," coach Brian Flores said. "I thought we had some really good individual efforts, and I thought as a group we played well as far as not allowing the quarterback to step up, as far as running a few games and just our pursuit to the quarterback was very good."

With veteran defensive linemen Cameron Wake, Robert Quinn and Andre Branch gone, the Dolphins desperately need production out of Harris. Defensive coordinator Patrick Graham has maintained that the sacks will come in the system he and Flores are implementing.

"Very excited," Harris said of the system. "It’s a lot of maneuverability, a lot of different packages, a lot of change-ups. It frees a lot of guys up."

The Dolphins totaled four sacks against the Bucs.

"I think those guys are really working hard as a unit to try to work their pass-rush games, and then their individual technique on a one-on-one rush has improved," Flores said. "And you saw that the other night."

Harris began laying the groundwork in the offseason by working with Craig Kuligowski, his old position coach at Missouri. "Coach Kool," as he’s known, gathered a few NFL defensive linemen including Davon Godchaux to drill on fundamentals.

"He’s been working hard," Godchaux said of Harris. "Me and him worked a lot this offseason, so I expect a lot out of him."

Despite managing a total of three sacks in his first two seasons, and fans wondering why the Dolphins used a No. 22 overall pick on him, Harris said he never lost confidence in himself. But he also admitted that a night like the one he had in Tampa can’t hurt psychologically.

"It boosts everybody’s confidence, not just myself, but my whole D-line," Harris said. "It’s that whole accountability. The guys know I’m going to be there for them; they’re going to be there for me."

hhabib@pbpost.com

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