Giants pass rush dominates Dolphins as tempers flare throughout joint practice

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Tempers flared several times throughout the joint practice between the Miami Dolphins and New York Giants on Thursday.

It started during the one-on-one drills and went all the way through the final team period.

“It’s a violent game. In this sort of an environment, you have rules of engagement that aren’t really the rules of the game,” Giants coach John Harbaugh said. “If somebody perceives that another person goes over the line, somebody needs to protect them.”

It didn’t take long for those rules to be tested.

The first altercation that required players to be separated came during offensive line-defensive line one-on-ones, when Giants edge rusher Abdul Carter threw a punch at Dolphins offensive tackle Patrick Paul after the two became tangled following a rep.

The hostility followed into 11-on-11 work, when Dolphins right tackle Austin Jackson took a swipe at Kayvon Thibodeaux before the Giants pass rusher responded with a shove that promptly sent Jackson to the ground.

New York’s offense and Miami’s defense got into another scuffle that took nearly a minute to completely break apart. Giants backup quarterback Jameis Winston repeatedly inserted himself into the pile as players and coaches attempted to separate the two sides.

Much of Thursday’s extracurricular activity occurred in the trenches, where New York can be dominant.

Brian Burns was at the forefront, helping a Giants defense that had at least six would-be sacks during team periods.

On one rep, he powered through Dolphins offensive lineman Caedan Wallace for a sack. On another, Burns attacked Jackson inside before spinning back around him and getting to running back De’von Achane, knocking the ball free.

“Dominant,” Burns said when describing the unit. “We don’t wait to get punched in the mouth. ... I don’t know how many sacks we had, but it was definitely more than six.”

Chauncey Golston, who appeared in 10 games for the Giants last season, had perhaps the most productive individual day of the group with three would-be sacks.

Two came when Golston tracked down Dolphins quarterback Malik Willis after play-action fakes, while another came after beating Dolphins guard Jonah Savaiinaea.

Willis was swarmed almost immediately after carrying out several play actions, including one rep in which Thibodeaux was waiting for him in the backfield before the quarterback could even reset.

Giants rookie receiver Malachi Fields continues to develop encouraging chemistry with quarterback Jaxson Dart.

Fields, a third-round pick out of Notre Dame, hauled in a deep ball from Dart down the left sideline during a team period before being stopped near the goal line.

The connection resurfaced in the final hurry-up period, when Fields made another catch to help move New York into field-goal range.

Miami second-round pick Jacob Rodriguez broke up an intermediate pass intended for Giants receiver Calvin Austin III and also had a would-be sack earlier in practice.

“We’re coming out here and working with serious competition, and getting full-speed reps with a different look,” Rodriguez said. “Some of the issues that our offense presents every day is different for what the Giants present.”

The Dolphins and Giants will get another look at each other Saturday, when they meet at Hard Rock Stadium for a preseason matchup.

Giants Pro Bowl receiver Malik Nabers did not participate in Thursday’s joint practice as he continues working his way back from the torn ACL he suffered last season.

Nabers had returned to full-speed team work while wearing a non-contact jersey, but New York kept him out against Miami.

Giants first-round pick Francis Mauigoa left practice after experiencing what Harbaugh described as a stinger.

Harbaugh said the issue was not believed to be serious.

Dolphins receiver A.J. Henning went down during special teams work while covering a punt. Henning attempted to split two blockers before being knocked to the ground and was attended to by members of Miami’s training staff.

Linebacker Tyrel Dodson also left practice and later returned to the field carrying his shoulder pads and without a helmet.

See AP’s full NFL coverage here

New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. (3) does drills during a joint NFL football practice with the Miami Dolphins, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

New York Giants running back Najee Harris (22) does drills during a joint NFL football practice with the Miami Dolphins, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Miami Dolphins quarterback Malik Willis (2) and running back De'von Achane (28) do drills during a joint NFL football practice with the New York Giants, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart (6) does drills during a joint NFL football practice with the Miami Dolphins,Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

New York Giants linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux, left, and linebacker Brian Burns, right, do drills during a joint NFL football practice with the Miami Dolphins, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

HONOLULU (AP) — Communities still recovering from last weekend’s hurricane in Hawaii could get pounded again in coming days from another tropical system gaining strength over warm Pacific waters.

Hurricane Lala tore roofs off houses, uprooted trees, covered roads in mud and rock and left many households without electricity. With thousands of homes and businesses still in the dark Thursday, forecasters warned another tropical cyclone is likely to form southeast of the islands soon.

A depression moving west and northwest could become a tropical storm later Thursday and pass near or south of Hawaii's Big Island over the weekend, according to the U.S. Central Pacific Hurricane Center. That system could dump up to 15 inches (38 centimeters) of rain across the Big Island and trigger life-threatening flooding, mudslides and rip currents, the hurricane center added.

Forecasters said the disturbance was located about 960 miles (1,545 kilometers) east-southeast of Hilo, Hawaii. But while it is expected to continue strengthening into the weekend, it was still too soon to forecast its exact path or the magnitude of its impacts.

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green and other state officials planned a news conference Thursday afternoon to discuss preparations for the approaching system as well as ongoing recovery efforts from Lala, which has been blamed for two deaths.

Residents found the body of a man in his 60s in a pasture Tuesday, a day after authorities recovered the body of May Doi, 93, whom neighbors said was trying to escape from floodwaters in her home. Doi was a beloved former kindergarten teacher who taught generations of residents in a small town on Hawaii’s Big Island.

“She taught grandkids of her students,” said ʻĀina Akamu, a former student of Doi who is now a vice principal at a local school. “She was a fixture in this community.''

Lala's heaviest recorded rainfall, 43.54 inches (1.1 meters), occurred on the northeast coast of the Big Island, the National Weather Service said. Dozens of homes were washed from foundations, bridges were damaged and about 13,200 customers on the Big Island remained without power Thursday.

Efforts to restore power in the hard-hit areas of the Big Island could take at least two weeks, the Hawaiian Electric utility said.

Lala is the first major hurricane of 2026 in the Central Pacific Ocean. Now well west of Hawaii’s main islands, Lala had top sustained winds of 100 mph (155 kph) on Thursday and was spreading hurricane conditions across parts of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument — a remote area at the northwestern edge of the Hawaiian Archipelago. The first impacts were being felt between Lisianski Island and Maro Reef, authorities said.

Forecasters said Lala would continue to cross waters of the marine national monument for a few days and remain at hurricane strength through the weekend.

Even in that vast and remote area, people were seeking safety. A charter boat carrying a 16-member crew dedicated to removing marine plastics and abandoned fishing nets from the shores of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands got out of Lala’s projected path this week.

Kevin O’Brien, president of the nonprofit Papahanaumokuakea Marine Debris Project, said the vessel left Lisianski Island on Monday and headed hundreds of miles (kilometers) out to sea.

“We were ready for it,” O’Brien said. “We keep on our toes out here during hurricane season.”

Ramer reported from Concord, New Hampshire. Associated Press writer John Raby in Charleston, West Virginia, contributed to this report.

This satellite image provided by NOAA shows Hurricane Lala on Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026, in the Pacific Ocean northeast of Hawaii. (NOAA via AP)