The Miami Dolphins offense finally found some rhythm Sunday, even if the scoreboard didn’t reflect that. In Tyler Huntley’s second start since signing with the Dolphins, the team found a way to pick up 372 yards and a season-high 24 first downs.
The formula for success wasn’t too complicated. Miami ran the ball 41 times against the New England Patriots and connected on shallow and intermediate passes that kept moving the chains.
“We’re just trying to get back to the basics and the understanding of the offense and I think this past game definitely showed that,” Dolphins running back Raheem Mostert said Tuesday. “We threatened them so hard [with the run’ and we got them out of the two-shell and they were single-high. That opened up more of the pass game and the pass windows for the receivers. All of that stuff goes hand-in-hand in this offense.”
The last time the Dolphins ran the ball more than 40 times in a game was their 70-20 destruction of the Denver Broncos in Week 3 of the 2023 season.
While the commitment to the run in that game was due mostly to the lopsided score, Miami managed to stick to the ground game Sunday despite trailing for the majority of the day. It paid dividends late, as the New England defense softened up in the fourth quarter, clearing the way for Mostert and Jaylen Wright to bulldoze down the field on a 15-play, game-winning touchdown drive in the final minutes.
“Being able to utilize the run game the way we did, it’s just going to open up more doors for everything else,” Mostert said. “I feel like once you establish the line of scrimmage everything else will take care of itself and that’s what we have to do.”
It’s a plan for success that could come in handy after the Dolphins’ Week 6 bye too. Miami will face the Indianapolis Colts, who have allowed the second most rushing yards in the NFL, and the Arizona Cardinals, who aren’t far behind with the fifth most. Then it’s a rematch against the Buffalo Bills, who have allowed an NFL-most 5.2 yards per carry.
On Sunday, Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel said “the running back room was ready to put the team on their back.” That group will probably continue to shoulder the load for a while longer.
