Where Patrick Paul leads the league. Dolphins’ Achane, Waller make history
During a season when even the most successful night of the year is marred by a devastating injury to the team’s best player, there are still glimmers of hope for the Dolphins.
Among them: the development of second-year left tackle Patrick Paul.
Aside from a penalty Monday, Paul was nearly flawless in pass protection, allowing no quarterback pressures in 30 pass-blocking opportunities in a 27-21 win against the Jets.
Consider that Paul has permitted only four quarterback pressures on 181 quarterback dropbacks/passing plays. No NFL tackle who has pass blocked nearly that much (at least 150 snaps) has yielded fewer QB pressures.
Pro Football Focus ranks him fifth worst as a run blocker among all tackles, but the talent is there to become a skilled run blocker.
Also encouraging: Left guard Jonah Savaiinaea had his best game of his rookie season, grading out very well in the run game, per PFF. He allowed three quarterback pressures (and 14 for the year) but hasn’t been responsible for a sack this season, according to that metrics website. There was clear improvement Monday.
And with right guard James Daniels and right tackle Austin Jackson sidelined by injuries, replacements Cole Strange and Larry Borom didn’t cause any catastrophes, though Borom wasn’t great. Strange was Miami’s best run blocking offensive lineman on Monday, per PFF. Borom allowed four pressures and Strange permitted two, but Miami didn’t allow a sack.
The Dolphins ran for 123 yards on 4.0 per carry, and the offensive line gets some credit for that.
Some other notes by position, on offense, from Monday’s game:
Wide receiver
Tyreek Hill played 24 snaps before his season-ending knee injury, and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine replaced him, logging a season-high 27 snaps on offense.
Jaylen Waddle played 52 of Miami’s 58 offensive snaps, a bit more than usual. Malik Washington played 28 and Dee Eskridge four.
Of the 17 players who logged offensive snaps, PFF rated Hill first and Waddle fifth.
Waddle, who had six drops last season, has 17 receptions without a drop this season, and 11 of the 17 have gone for first downs.
With Hill out for the season, the Dolphins could opt to make Tahj Washington active on game days. He has been a healthy scratch for Miami’s first four games.
Another option is practice squad rookie Theo Wease Jr., who impressed during training camp.
Tight end
Darren Waller, who was on a snap count in his Dolphins debut, was on the field for just 16 offensive plays, but made the most of them, catching three passes, including two for touchdowns.
Waller is the first player in Dolphins history to have multiple receiving touchdowns in his Dolphins debut.
He also is one of five players, and the first since 2002, to have multiple touchdowns in his Dolphins debut.
The others: Ricky Williams (2002), Robert Edwards (2002), Jim Braxton (1978) and Abner Hayes (1967).
Julian Hill played 40 of the 58 snaps, and Tanner Conner logged nine snaps on offense. PFF graded Waller second and Julian Hill third among Miami’s offensive players on Monday.
Running back
De’Von Achane played 44 offensive snaps and Ollie Gordon II played 15. Running back Jaylen Wright (and quarterback Zach Wilson) were the only available Dolphins who did not play.
Achane closed with 20 carries for 99 yards and a touchdown, while adding one reception for two yards. Achane has at least 100 scrimmage yards in 14 of 32 career games.
The rushing touchdown was Achane’s 15th of his career; he joins Chuck Foreman and Kareem Hunt as the only players since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger to produce 15-plus rushing touchdowns and 10-plus receiving scores in their first 32 games.
Achane is averaging 4.9 yards on his 50 rushing attempts this season and 5.5 yards per carry in his career.
Alec Ingold played 31 snaps and had a key block on Achane’s 9-yard touchdown run.
Quarterback
Tua Tagovailoa completed 17 of 25 passes for 177 yards with two touchdowns. It marked Tagovailoa’s 19th consecutive game with a touchdown pass, the second-longest active streak behind Lamar Jackson’s 27.
Tagovailoa has thrown at least one touchdown pass in 40 of his last 41 games. His passer rating of 114.9 marked his 30th career game with a passer rating of 100 or better. His 30 such games trail only Hall of Famers Dan Marino (67) and Bob Griese (46) for the most in franchise history.
Entering Week 5, Tagovailoa ranks 18th in the NFL quarterback rating at 93.2, 24th in passing yards (752), 10th in completion percentage (69.3), tied for eighth with seven touchdown passes, and tied for fourth for most interceptions (four).
Monday’s performance marked Tagovailoa’s sixth consecutive game with multiple touchdown passes against a divisional opponent, the longest active streak in the NFL.
This story was originally published September 30, 2025 at 10:58 AM.
