Dolphins' offensive line is playing better but MNF showed concerning cracks
By Brian Miller
The Miami Dolphins' offensive line is a hot-button topic around the water cooler. They are sometimes up and sometimes down, but over the last few weeks, this has been one of the most underrated units on the roster.
On Monday night, they played well enough to win, but not without struggles. The Dolphins placed Austin Jackson on injured reserve prior to the game, and they will now run with Kendall Lamm for the remainder of the season.
This is a unit that still has false starts and holding penalties, and they still have Liam Eichenberg. The rest of the line? Yeah, they are playing upper-level stuff right now.
Miami's pass blocking may leave a little to be desired at times, but when it comes to run blocking, the Dolphins' line is playing fantastic. Over the last four games, the Dolphins have rushed for 106, 193, 188, 150, and 149 yards. In fact, Miami has only rushed less than 100 yards twice this year—in Week 1 against the Jacksonville Jaguars (81) and Week 3 against the Seattle Seahawks (65).
The Dolphins have the league's eighth-highest PFF run-blocking grade.
Was Chris Grier right about the Miami Dolphins offensive line play?
On Monday Night Football, the Dolphins' line wasn't good enough protecting Tua Tagovailoa, but the offense overcame those issues.
The credit for the line's turnaround belongs to Butch Barry, who has devised a run-blocking system that is masking some of the insufficiencies, like Eichenberg. Robert Jones is playing better, but the trio of Brewer, Jackson, and a healthy Terron Armstead has made a big difference.
GM Chris Grier took a risk while standing on his theory the Dolphins didn't need top offensive line help, but he is lucky two things are working in his favor. Coach Barry is doing an incredible job, and Tua Tagovailoa has one of the quickest releases in the league.
The Dolphins have made it work, but they still have a lot of room to improve. They need help in 2025, and Grier can't ignore that.
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