Perspective on what Dolphins run game is doing. And position-by-position nuggets
The Dolphins’ remarkable transformation to an elite running team — one that dominated a cold-weather game Sunday albeit against a dreadful opponent — has come with several notable achievements. Among them:
▪ After rushing for 239 yards on 5.8 per carry in the 34-10 win against the Jets, the Dolphins awoke Monday ranked fifth in the NFL in yards-per-carry average at 4.9 — well ahead of last year’s 4.0.
That trails only Buffalo (5.1) and Baltimore, Detroit and Indianapolis, who average 5.0 per carry.
▪ The Dolphins have rushed for more than 150 yards in each of their past four games, the first time they have done that in a single year since early in the 1977 season.
▪ With De’Von Achane, Ollie Gordon II and Jaylen Wright all rushing for touchdowns, Sunday marked the first time since a September 1978 game against Buffalo that Miami had three running backs with a rushing touchdown in a single game and just the fifth time in franchise history.
▪ It was Miami’s first game with two players rushing for more than 90 yards (Wright 107, Achane 92) since Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams each topped 90 yards at New England on Sept. 21, 2008, a game best known for the emergence of the Wildcat offense.
▪ Miami has averaged 192.3 rushing yards per game during the past five weeks, the most in the league since Week 1.
Notes by position
▪ Quarterback: Tua Tagovailoa, who opened 8 for 8 and finished 17 of 21 for 127 yards at a 94.7 rating, improved to 7-0 as a starting quarterback against the Jets and 8-0 in all games he has played against New York.
Tagovailoa and L.A. Rams’ Matthew Stafford (6-0 vs. Seattle) are the only active quarterbacks to be undefeated in games started against a current divisional opponent (minimum five games).
Incidentally, the Dolphins’ 21 points and 199 yards were their most in a first quarter since an October 2015 game against Houston.
▪ Running back: Achane played 22 snaps before departing with the rib injury; Mike McDaniel said he could have returned to the game.
Despite playing less than a half, he topped 100 scrimmage yards for the fifth game in a row, becoming just the fourth Dolphin in franchise history to do so, joining Reggie Bush (six games), Brown and Williams.
What’s more, Achane’s 520 rushing yards over the past four games are the most by a Dolphins player in a four-game span since Jay Ajayi rushed for 608 from Week 6 to 10 during the 2016 season.
Wright (24 carries for a career-high 107 yards on 24 snaps) became the 40th player in franchise history to rush for 100 yards in a single game. His 24 carries are the most by a Dolphin since Duke Johnson had 25 vs. New England on Jan. 9, 2022.
▪ Wide receiver: Cedrick Wilson Jr. started for the first time and played 13 snaps, while Jaylen Waddle played 51 of 65, Malik Washington 34 and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine 22. Waddle caught his sixth TD, two off his career high.
▪ Tight end: The Dolphins played a lot of two-tight end sets, with Greg Dulcich logging 35 snaps, Julian Hill 33 and Darren Waller 24. On Monday, Pro Football Focus said Dulcich (three receptions, 41 yards) was Miami’s third-best player on offense behind Achane and center Aaron Brewer, and just ahead of Wright and fullback Alec Ingold.
▪ Offensive line: No Dolphins offensive lineman allowed a sack, and rookie left guard Jonah Savaiinaea permitted only one pressure on 23 pass blocking snaps. PFF graded Brewer and left tackle Patrick Paul as Miami’s best run blockers, and Paul didn’t allow any QB pressures.
▪ Defensive line: Zach Sieler’s 2.5 sacks were a career high on a day he played 38 defensive snaps. The Dolphins continued to give comparable playing time to their three rookies — with Kenneth Grant and Zeek Biggers playing 27 defensive snaps and Jordan Phillips 24.
Among 25 Dolphins who played defensive snaps on Sunday, PFF rated Phillips eighth, Grant 11th and Biggers 24th.
Benito Jones played 13 snaps.
▪ Outside linebacker: The Dolphins again gave comparable snaps to Bradley Chubb (37), Matthew Judon (34) and Chop Robinson, who played 32 snaps and had a sack and his first career forced fumble. PFF rated Robinson sixth among 25 Dolphins defenders.
▪ Inside linebacker: With his five tackles Sunday, Jordyn Brooks surpassed Hall of Famer Zach Thomas for the most tackles by a Dolphin in their first two seasons with the team at 285. (Dolphins’ records on this go back to 1994.)
Willie Gay Jr. played a season-high 18 snaps and PFF graded him as Miami’s best player on defense on Sunday, followed by fellow inside linebackers Tyrel Dodson and Brooks.
▪ Cornerback: Rasul Douglas became the first Dolphin with consecutive games with an interception since Dodson in Weeks 17 and 18 in 2024 and the first Miami defensive back to do that since Justin Coleman in Weeks 9 and 10 in 2021.
Douglas allowed only two of nine passes in his coverage area to be caught (for 23 yards), and his five passes defensed are the most by a Dolphin since Eric Rowe vs. the L.A. Rams on Nov. 1, 2020.
Douglas has yielded a 66.3 passer rating in his coverage area, fourth best among all NFL cornerbacks who have been targeted at least 40 times.
Jason Marshall Jr. (16 snaps) and Ethan Bonner (15) got late work. Bonner was targeted five times, had his first career interception on one of them and allowed two catches for 26 yards.
▪ Safety: Ashtyn Davis was the only Dolphin who played all 58 defensive snaps, and PFF rated him fifth among all Dolphins defenders Sunday.
Minkah Fitzpatrick, who rested on the bench with several other starters during fourth-quarter garbage time, played 43 defensive snaps, Ifeatu Melifonwu 31 and Dante Trader Jr. 28.
Fitzpatrick will play his former team when Miami visits Pittsburgh on Monday night, Dec. 15 (ESPN, CBS 4).
Here are 10 thoughts and notes on the Dolphins after Sunday’s win.
Here’s what McDaniel said after the game, including how he has changed.
This story was originally published December 8, 2025 at 11:54 AM.
