Last season, the Miami Dolphins were famous for their big-play offense.
It made sense because the Dolphins led the league in plays of 10 or more yards, as well as 50-yard plays. With the fastest receivers like Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, along with quick running backs such as Raheem Mostert and De’Von Achane, they had the speed to create huge plays.
This season, Miami’s offense has changed. With defenses focusing on limiting those big plays by keeping two safeties deep, the Dolphins have adjusted. Instead of relying on explosive plays, they’ve shifted to longer, more methodical drives, as seen in their win against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday.
“That’s something that we’ve been talking about since the start of the offseason,” said coach Mike McDaniel. “We’ve been looking ahead, figuring out how we win elimination games and how we can win down the stretch. To win late in the season, you have to adjust to what the defense gives you.”
On Sunday, three of Miami’s drives lasted 14 plays or more, each taking more than seven minutes off the clock. They had another 10-play drive that went for 5:44. Three of these drives ended in touchdowns.
Though they only had seven possessions in the game, they were efficient—showing how the offense, led by quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, has evolved from a quick-strike team to one that controls the ball.
Tagovailoa, who leads the NFL with a 73.4% completion rate, was 28 of 36 for 288 yards on Sunday. He spread the ball around to nine different receivers.
“I think what’s been different this season with the quarterback play is that I’m not trying to force things down the field if they aren’t there,” Tagovailoa said. “Instead, I’m taking the checkdowns and allowing our running backs to get first downs. If they break a tackle, it works almost like a run play.”
One challenge this season has been that the Dolphins haven’t been able to get the ball to Hill and Waddle as much. With teams often double-teaming them, the two receivers are having their least productive seasons so far.
Hill had 61 yards and a touchdown on Sunday, marking his first back-to-back games with a touchdown this season. Waddle had two receptions for 37 yards.
Despite the extra attention on Hill and Waddle, other receivers have stepped up. One of the key players has been Achane, who leads the team in both receptions (46) and carries (122). On Sunday, he ran for 73 yards on 17 carries and caught four passes for 32 yards, along with a 2-yard touchdown.
Tight end Jonnu Smith has also become an important part of the offense in recent games. Over the past two games, Smith has made nine catches on 12 targets for 146 yards and two touchdowns.
“That’s our brand of football,” Smith said about the long, sustained drives. “That’s who the Miami Dolphins are offensively.”
McDaniel hopes this efficiency will lead to more big plays as the season goes on, even though big plays have been rare recently. They had just one 50-yard play in the fourth quarter against the Raiders.
“Explosives are important to winning football games,” McDaniel said. “It’s hard to consistently gain 5 yards at a time. But if the defense is going to play safe and keep the ball in front of them, then we need to take what they give us, execute well, and make long drives to force them to take more risks.”
