The Miami Dolphins need all the help they can get entering Week 2 as two-touchdown underdogs in San Francisco against the 49ers. They did catch something of a break when it was revealed that tight end Jake Tonges is headed to injured reserve after suffering a season-ending MCL injury in the opener.
Unfortunately for the 49ers, major injuries aren't new to them. They were ravaged by them last season and at many other points in the Kyle Shanahan era. It feels like a curse at this point.
Although Miami looked pretty sluggish in a 27-13 loss to the Raiders, Tonges' absence looms large and could actually give the Dolphins a crack at keeping things more competitive in the Bay Area than the 13.5-point spread would imply.
Tonges' absence limits the efficacy of San Francisco's formation versatility against the Miami Dolphins
The 49ers love to live out of 12 and 22 personnel, aka one running back and two tight ends, or two backs and two tight ends. They ran the least 11 personnel (one back, three wide receivers) in Week 1 across the entire league.
Running these 12/22 packages with a healthy George Kittle and Jake Tonges is far different than doing so with a still-rusty George Kittle coming off a torn Achilles from January and a perpetually mid Luke Farrell.
Tonges was an underrated, significant part of the 49ers' passing game in 2025, too, racking up 34 receptions on 46 targets for 293 yards and five TDs in the regular season.
The 27-year-old vet rose from complete obscurity to achieve those marks. He had one career target before last season, all the way back in 2022.
So it's not like he had some world-beater, proven commodity ahead of him on the depth chart. To Tonges' credit, he earned that TE2 spot for the 49ers and ran with the opportunity. As a football purist, it's a bummer to see him go down.
Jordyn Brooks and Jacob Rodriguez can full-tilt commit to stopping Christian McCaffrey
...But Jake Tonges' pain is a brutal reality of the game of football, and it's the Dolphins' gain.
Miami linebackers Jordyn Brooks and Jacob Rodriguez no longer have to worry about a second tight end really threatening them when Purdy drops back to pass. Fullback/jack-of-all-trades Kyle Juszczyk can catch the ball, but a twitchy speed demon or home run threat he is not.
Hence, Brooks and Rodriguez can really sell out to stuff the run and make life difficult for Christian McCaffrey. The outside zone running scheme the Niners run is pretty much a carbon copy of what the Dolphins practice against every day. That should create a built-in advantage as well.
If the 49ers stubbornly stick to their heavy reliance on 12 and 22 personnel, they are sort of hamstringing themselves. And look, maybe the talent gap is too vast for the Dolphins to overcome in spite of that, but Tonges' absence could trigger a ripple effect that makes Miami a friskier, tougher team than any Niners fan is anticipating right now.
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