The Phinsider
Dolphins commitment to running game allows for ugly victory against Patriots.
The Miami Dolphins ended their three game losing streak on Sunday when they traveled to Foxborough, Massachusetts and upset fellow AFC East basement dwellers, the New England Patriots, in week five of the 2024 NFL season by a score of 15-10.
Yes, it was an ugly loss, but as we often say when the good guys come out on top in games like these, ugly wins are always better than pretty losses. In fact, this ugly win represented the only victory had by any AFC East squad in week five, as the New York Jets lost to the Minnesota Vikings and the Buffalo Bills lost to the Houston Texans in addition to the Dolphins downing the Pats.
Suddenly, Miami is just one game back in the divisional standings heading into their BYE week in week six.
Oh, how things can change in just six days.
Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel earned his stripes in NFL circles as the run game coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers before becoming the head coach in Miami ahead of the 2022 season. During his time in South Florida, McDaniel has called one of the pass heaviest offensive schemes in all of football. For the past couple of years, that has been a good thing for the Dolphins, however, in 2024, with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa sidelined with another concussion, many fans were hoping McDaniel would put more emphasis on allowing his stable of talented running backs to control games against “lesser” teams.
Prior to Sunday, that hadn’t happened yet, with McDaniel stubbornly asking his backup quarterbacks to do their best Tagovailoa impressions with little success. However, against the Patriots, McDaniel went back to his roots — especially on Miami’s lone touchdown drive — en route to 193 yards rushing, including 86 yards by rookie Jaylen Wright and 80 yards from veteran Raheem Mostert. Fullback Alec Ingold scored Miami’s one touchdown — a go-ahead score that proved to be the nail in the coffin against the Patriots.
Speaking of the running game...
The Dolphins have been struggling against opposing running backs in 2024 — something many fans feared would happen with the loss of defensive tackle Christian Wilkins in the offseason.
On Sunday, they gave up 151 yards rushing to the Patriots at 7.9 yards per tote. They gave up massive individual gains to Rhamondre Stevenson (33 yards) and Antonio Gibson (24 yards), with Stevenson’s long run putting New England’s only touchdown on the board.
When Miami returns from their week six BYE week, they’ll likely face Colts running back Jonathan Taylor and possibly highly mobile quarterback Anthony Richardson. They’ll need to figure things out with their front-seven if they don’t want to get gashed on the ground once more.
