These 10 Dolphins lead AFC or NFL in something meaningful. But here’s biggest shortcoming
Heading into December, more than a handful of Dolphins sit atop various measurements of performance — either in the NFL overall or AFC specifically — and that’s a big reason why Miami stands at 8-3 and 2.5 games atop the AFC East.
Twelve factoids involving 10 Dolphins who rank No. 1 in a statistical area or by an analytics website, as we approach Sunday’s game at Washington (1 p.m., Fox):
▪ Tyreek Hill leads the NFL in receiving yards at 1,324 — well ahead of No. 2 CeeDee Lamb’s 1,182 for Dallas.
Hill also leads the NFL with 10 receiving touchdowns. He’s on pace for 2,046 receiving yards, which would set an NFL record.
▪ Tua Tagovailoa ranks first in the AFC in passer rating at 103.7, just ahead of Russell Wilson’s 103.4. San Francisco’s Brock Purdy leads at 112.3, with Dallas’ Dak Prescott and injured Vikings QB Kirk Cousins also ahead of Tagovailoa, who is fourth overall.
▪ Pro Football Focus rates Connor Williams the best center in football this season, just ahead of Philadelphia’s Jason Kelce, who was called a Future Hall of Famer by CBS on Sunday.
PFF also rates Williams the best run-blocking center in the league.
▪ PFF rates Jevon Holland the best safety in football. He has a very solid 81.4 passer rating in his coverage area, and PFF said he’s the eighth-best run-defending safety in football.
▪ Among every NFL cornerback who has been targeted at least 10 times, Jalen Ramsey has the lowest passer rating against — an absurd 7.7. Only seven of the 19 passes in his coverage areas have been completed, for 66 yards, with three interceptions and no touchdowns.
▪ Raheem Mostert leads the AFC in rushing yards, at 785 — 14 yards ahead of the Raiders’ Josh Jacobs, who at 771.
But Mostert is averaging 5.2 yards per carry, compared with 3.5 for Jacobs. In fact, Mostert’s 5.2 average is third among all running backs with at least 50 carries.
Only San Francisco’s Christian McCaffrey (939) has more rushing yards than Mostert.
▪ What’s more, Mostert leads the AFC in total touchdowns with 15. Mark Clayton holds the Dolphins single-season record for touchdowns with 18 in 1984.
▪ PFF rates David Long Jr. as the best run-defender among all linebackers this season.
▪ PFF ranks Hill the best and Jaylen Waddle the sixth-best wide receiver in the AFC this season. And among AFC players, Hill has the fastest timed speed on any play this season: 22.01 yards on a 64-yard catch and run against the Giants, per Next Gen Stats.
▪ Left tackle Terron Armstead has allowed by far the fewest quarterback pressures (three) of any offensive lineman who has played at least 100 passing downs. (Armstead has played 154.) The next best offensive lineman in that regard has yielded eight pressures.
▪ Of the 29 offensive tackles who have pass blocked at least 400 snaps, Austin Jackson has given up the second-fewest pressures (13). That leads the AFC in that category; Detroit’s Penei Sewell is the only one who has allowed fewer (11). Sewell has pass blocked on 453 plays, Jackson 427.
Jackson is setting himself up for a very good in payday in free agency in March.
▪ Among running backs with at least 35 carries, De’Von Achane leads the league with an 11.2 average. Nobody else is close.
So the Dolphins are doing a lot well.
Here’s one thing they’re not doing well: Converting in short-yardage situations.
It has become clear this week that Dolphins coaches know they must fix this shortcoming. How remains the question; coach Mike McDaniel said he might run more.
The Dolphins have converted 19 of 34 chances on third down and 1, 2 or 3. That 55.9 percent is 25th in the league. Miami has thrown 25 times on third-and-short and 15 have been converted into first downs.
Miami has run nine times on 3rd and short and converted only four times, which is 31st in success rate.
On fourth-and-1 or 2 and 3, Miami is 3 for 8, a conversion rate that is last in the league. The Dolphins have thrown six times in those situations and have converted two of those six. They’re 1 for 2 in success rate on fourth and short runs.
Offensive coordinator Frank Smith suggested Miami throws a lot on short yardage because “we have an extremely accurate quarterback.”
But Smith said: “This area we can improve in. The biggest thing is that when you look at us as an offense and you see we have an ability to move the football. One section isn’t as good as the other because the disparity between the two is drastic. You’re top five in most categories, and you have this one where you’re at the bottom” in short yardage conversions.
This story was originally published December 1, 2023 at 1:41 PM.
