3 numbers to know: Can the 49ers contain the Dolphins up and coming pass rush?

3 numbers to know: Can the 49ers contain the Dolphins up and coming pass rush?
Niners Nation Niners Nation

Taking a trip down memory lane to see how the 49ers have fared in their trips to Miami since 1995.

Misery loves company, and if you are looking for the AFC counterpart to the San Francisco 49ers misery, look no further than the Miami Dolphins.

Both teams entered 2024 with hopes of playing in New Orleans in February but have fallen well short of those expectations behind subpar performances from their offenses, struggling defenses, and a myriad of injuries – Miami has more players on injured reserve than the 49ers, one of four teams able to claim that.

A Miami win would mathematically eliminate the 49ers from the postseason – there’s still a path for the 49ers that REQUIRES a Week 18 tie between the Rams and Seahawks – while a San Francisco win will do to the Dolphins’ playoff hopes what the Rams win last week did to the 49ers playoff chances.

With both teams’ playoff hopes hanging by the smallest of threads, these are the numbers to know for the 49ers’ Sunday trip to South Beach:

-34.4

The Dolphins’ offense averages 101.4 rushing yards per game, 34.4 yards less than last season when Miami ranked sixth in rushing.

And it’s not like Miami is running the ball any less this season than last. The Dolphins ran the ball 26.8 times per game in 2023. In 2024, Miami has run the ball slightly less, at 26.3 attempts per game. That comes out to about nine fewer rush attempts than last season.

Part of that considerable drop-off from last year has been the regression of second-year running back De’Von Achane. Achane played a pivotal role in the success of Miami’s run game last season, rushing for 800 yards on 103 attempts in 11 games.

While that 7.8 yards per rush wasn’t sustainable, Miami was expecting more than what Achane has given this season, halving his production to 3.9 yards per attempt – half a yard lower than the league average – on 165 attempts.

Some of those struggles, however, could be placed on the offensive line. According to Pro Football Focus, Miami’s run-blocking grade ranks 25th in the league at 58.1. Right tackle Austin Jackson injured his knee in November and is out for the season. He was replaced by Kendall Lamb, whose run block grade is about eight points lower than Jackson’s.

Miami also lost right guard Robert Hunt over the offseason, who Liam Eichenberg replaced. Eichenberg and Robert Jones anchor the guards, and neither has been effective in the run game this season. PFF hasn’t been kind to either, with Eichenberg’s run-block grade at 56.9 and Jones’ at 58.6, both below average.

Now, all of this isn’t to say that San Francisco’s 18th-ranked run defense. Just last Thursday, the Rams 22nd-ranked run offense rushed for 142 yards on 38 attempts, doing just enough to keep the Los Angeles offense moving in the sloppy conditions. The 49ers have allowed 100 rushing yards or more in four of its last...