Miami Dolphins keys to an offensive resurgence against the Buffalo Bills

The Miami Dolphins offense has been anything but explosive these last two weeks, and they will have to be if they want to beat the Buffalo Bills.

In the first eight games that Tua Tagovailoa both started and finished this year the Dolphins’ offense was averaging just under 30 points per game. That is elite offensive production.

Then they played the San Fransisco 49ers.

The 49ers were the first team this year to make the Dolphins’ offense struggle. Then last week, The Los Angeles Chargers copied and pasted the 49ers game plan. That led to another offensive struggle for the Dolphins.

The blueprint on how to stop this Dolphins’ offense appears to be out. Be physical with the wide receivers and make sure your linebackers get depth.

With the linebackers dropping out so quickly it should be easier to run the football, which leads me to point number one.

ONE

In order for the Dolphins to beat the Bills on Saturday night they have to commit to the run.

It is going to be cold. It is hard to throw the ball when temperatures are in the teens.

Plus, part of why the linebackers these last two weeks have been able to get so much depth and shrink passing windows is because the run game is not even a threat. The Dolphins ran the ball eight times against the 49ers and, excluding Tua’s scrambles, only 16 times against the Chargers.

This is a major issue that I do not understand. I love Mike McDaniel and everyone has seen his genius this year, BUT he was the run game coordinator with the 49ers. They were one of the most successful teams running the football these past few years. Why has that not translated to Miami?

Why has there been a lack of commitment to running the ball? The Dolphins run the ball the 2nd least amount in the NFL. Only the Tampa Bay Buccaneers run the ball less.

A dependable run game would fix many of the problems this Dolphins team has. A dependable run game would allow them to eat clock, so their defense is not out on the field for 40 minutes. A dependable run game would force the linebackers to wait half a second longer before they dropped into coverage. That would allow for bigger passing windows. A dependable run game would take a lot of pressure off of Tua.

It is hard to win games when everything is reliant on the quarterback. Every quarterback gets better with a dependable run game. Patrick Mahomes gets better, Josh Allen gets better, Kirk Cousins gets better, and I can keep going. Tua’s production will increase if they can figure out how to run the football.

TWO

The passing game has struggled these last two weeks in large part because the timing between Tua and his receivers have been off. Players are not where they need to be when they need to be there.

A large part of that is because of the bump and run coverage teams are playing on the Dolphins’ receivers. There is an easy way to counter that.

Motion.

This is common sense. It is much harder for you to put your hands on me if I am moving at the speed of Tyreek Hill than if I am standing still.

In this timing based offense it is vital that the Dolphins figure out a way to keep routes on time. The best way to do that is to not allow teams to play bump and run coverage.

Implementing more motion into the offense should help with that. When the timing is on it does more than just allow Tua to anticipate throws and be accurate.

It aids the offensive line as well. It allows them to block for two and a half seconds instead of four seconds. That matters. Tua has been under a lot of pressure these last two games because the defenses have disrupted the timing of the offense.

I fully expect to see the Dolphins have more motion in their offense this week. It is the simplest way to counter the physical play at the line of scrimmage against their receivers.

THREE

The final key to the Dolphins’ offense having a successful game against the Bills is to use the whole field in the passing game.

It seems like every passing play has the same goal. It is designed to be a completion 12-16 yards down the field. It is usually in the middle of the field as well. Occasionally, they will throw it outside the numbers, but for the most part this offense targets the middle of the field.

The Dolphins need to take advantage of how quickly the linebackers are getting out of the box.

They need to run screens, draws, and other delayed short throws to take advantage of the space underneath.

The Dolphins have three guys who can absolutely go the distance off of a three yard pass. Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle can obviously do it, but so can Cedric Wilson. He is returning kicks for a reason. We saw Trent Sherfield go 75 yards for a touchdown against the 49ers.

Give these explosive speed receivers an opportunity to make a play after the catch. Plus, there is nothing wrong with completing a pass for five yards. If anything it will help the offense.

Right now when teams play the Dolphins they know they have to protect the middle intermediate of the field and bombs over the top of the defense.

It is easier to defend teams when you do not have to defend the whole field. If the Dolphins would use the area of the field in front of the first down marker it would open up space in the intermediate middle and over the top.

In order to beat this loaded Bills team the Dolphins are going to have to click offensively like they were a couple weeks ago. They are more than capable of winning this game. The offense will just have to show up to do so.