Dolphins overpower the Browns for fourth win in a row behind potent rushing attack
The Dolphins had seen how potent their passing game could be for weeks.
On Sunday, they started to unlock the potential of their running game.
Behind a well-rounded offensive outing and the team’s most dominant performance of the season, the Dolphins routed the Cleveland Browns in a 39-17 win at Hard Rock Stadium.
The Dolphins (7-3) head into their bye week on a four-game winning streak and, after the Buffalo Bills’ loss to the Minnesota Vikings, in sole possession of first place in the AFC East.
“I’m just very, very happy with the captains, the leadership council and just really all the players for committing to a cause that they’re starting to see how worth it it is,” said Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel, who has now led Miami to its first 7-3 start since 2001.
In shutting down one of the league’s best running games — the Browns’ duo of Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt combined for 72 yards — the Dolphins also unlocked their rushing offense, the next step for a unit that has surged through the air.
The Dolphins’ 195 rushing yards were a season high and the most they’ve totaled on the ground since the 2021 season finale against the New England Patriots. Jeff Wilson Jr., the newest member of the Dolphins’ backfield, recorded a team-high 119 rushing yards and one touchdown, and Raheem Mostert contributed 65 rushing yards and a score.
While the running game began to flourish, the Dolphins continued to get what McDaniel called “high-level football” from quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. He completed 25 of 32 passes for 285 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions (135.0 passer rating). It’s the third consecutive game Tagovailoa has thrown three touchdown passes. Since returning from a concussion in Week 7, Tagovailoa has thrown 10 touchdown passes with zero interceptions.
“It’s phenomenal to watch him commit to the process,” McDaniel said. “It’s the third game in a row where I didn’t feel a high or a low from him. He was just trying to execute each and every play.”
Though Tagovailoa has relied heavily on the dynamic duo of receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, the tandem had quieter outings than usual. Hill caught five passes for 44 yards and a touchdown, his lowest output of the season since Week 3, and Waddle caught four passes for 66 yards, his fewest receptions and yardage since Week 5.
The Dolphins’ offense didn’t flinch, though, as Tagovalioa connected with eight different pass-catchers and Miami amassed over 400 total yards for the fourth time this season.
“I think the benefit is those guys on the opposing team have to cover everyone on the field,” Tagovailoa said. “It’s not just Tyreek or Jaylen or Mike [Gesicki] or our backs. You’ve got to cover everyone and if someone is not accounted for, then hopefully we can find them and get them the ball and force their team to tackle them. I think that’s also something that’s frustrating for defenses. It’s within the progression of my read, so regardless of who it is, if he is open, I’ll try to find a way to get him the ball.”
The Browns (3-6) scored on the game’s opening drive — quarterback Jacoby Brissett threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to tight end Harrison Bryant — but the Dolphins’ responded with 24 consecutive points. Tagovailoa found fullback Alec Ingold (four catches, 44 yards) and wide receiver Trent Sherfield (four catches, 63 yards) for first-half scores as Miami led 17-7 at halftime.
Mostert opened the second half with a 24-yard touchdown run and the Dolphins seemed to shift into cruise control for the rest of the afternoon.
On defense, a unit that had given up 59 combined points in the last two games got back on track, sacking Brissett three times. The Browns, who are still awaiting the return of Deshaun Watson — the quarterback many wanted the Dolphins to go after to replace Tagovailoa — finished with 112 yards on the ground, their second-fewest in a game this season. Most of that came when Chubb sped down the sideline for a 33-yard touchdown that cut Miami’s lead to 30-17 with 13:09 left in the fourth quarter.
Less than a year after many questioned whether Tagovailoa was the right quarterback for the Dolphins, the third-year player was serenaded with “MVP” chants at several points throughout the afternoon.
“There’s no doubt I heard that,” Tagovailoa said. “I could hear that when it was a TV timeout, when we were walking back into the tunnel. You know, it’s flattering. But what we came to do and what we came to accomplish, it’s not accomplished yet. So it would be cool, but we have bigger goals and aspirations on what we want to do as a team.”
And the Dolphins took another step toward that with what defensive lineman Christian Wilkins called “probably ... our most complete game.”
It was the first game in which the Dolphins did not attempt a punt since 2003. The defense kept the Browns to a season-low 297 yards and recorded its first takeaway since Week 7 when defensive lineman Zach Sieler punched the ball out of Chubb’s hands and cornerback Xavien Howard recovered the ball in the first quarter.
And as Wilkins spoke to reporters postgame, assessing the state of the team, he raised his arm in an ascending motion — a concise way to describe a Dolphins squad that looks like one of the best teams in the NFL.
“An objective of ours is definitely just to sprint into the bye week,” he said. “We didn’t think about it or want to sit on a loss or sit on a bad game. We all wanted to come out here and sprint into the bye week. That was kind of the mindset, and we did just that.”
This story was originally published November 13, 2022 at 3:58 PM.
