At one point during the 2024 Miami Dolphins season, the offensive line was praised for playing so well. However, they were not able to continue making that progress.
Remember when the offensive line was suddenly so good that Chris Grier and Mike McDaniel may have actually been correct in not worrying about the unit? Yeah, we actually said that, and the media actually said that, too. We were all wrong, but really, we only bought into the false narrative.
Miami ran the ball well earlier in the year. In each game from Weeks 4 to 9, the Dolphins rushed for more than 100 yards, including 188 against the Colts and 150 against the Cardinals. They put up 149 against the Bills. Since that game, however, the Dolphins' rushing attack has taken a big slide backward.
Dolphins' offensive line gave the offense no hope vs. Packers in Week 13
The Dolphins rushed for a measly 39 yards on Thursday night, and that follows a 65-yard effort in Week 12, 82 in Week 11, and 67 in Week 10.
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Winning tough football games comes down to controlling the clock and controlling the tempo. A physically imposing rushing attack will take care of both, but it is much harder to win when the offensive line can't hold their blocks or open up holes. Good teams have good front lines and can create mistakes.
On Thursday, the Dolphins failed to run the ball with any consistency, and in the end, it allowed the Packers to key on the Dolphins' receivers. When they had that covered, they took advantage of the poor play to harass Tua Tagovailoa the entire game. Green Bay's defense sacked Tua five times and pressured him on 22 occasions.
It doesn't matter how much speed your running back has or how fast your receivers are. It doesn't matter if your quarterback has a quick release. If you take away the quick throws, and the offensive line can't block, you are not going to win, and Tua isn't mobile enough to buy time.