The Miami Dolphins' Week 1 tilt against the Las Vegas Raiders was particularly disappointing, considering the Raiders were among the weakest perceived opponents on the schedule in 2026. It makes more sense when you dive into the numbers on how offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik went about attacking the Las Vegas defense.
Anyone who has been following the Dolphins knows their best offensive player is De'Von Achane. Just as he carried the team on his back in 2025, the most sensible path to victory this season is to lean on the elusive Energizer bunny. Achane's talent coupled with Miami's sizable personnel on the interior offensive line made for an obvious plan: attack the Raiders' interior defensive line.
Miami would run the ball just 18 times (five of which were quarterback scrambles). That figure ranked tied for the third-fewest attempts in Week 1. What's more, despite averaging an admittedly unspectacular 3.5 yards per carry on interior rushes (courtesy of Pro Football Focus $), their 1.4-yard average running outside was downright tragic. As fate would have it, the 49ers' weakness is also their interior defensive line — Bobby Slowik has a chance at a rare do-over.
The Miami Dolphins must lean on De'Von Achane and the run game to keep the game close against the San Francisco 49ers
Just before the 49ers' Week 1 matchup against their arch-rival, the Los Angeles Rams, starting defensive tackle Alfred Collins suffered a torn patellar tendon that will knock him out for the season. While the 49ers won comfortably in Australia, PFF gave the three lowest defensive grades for San Francisco to defensive tackles James Thompson Jr. (29.1), Gracen Halton (30.4), and C.J. West (33.2). That trio will be tasked with filling in again against the Dolphins on Sunday.
It's important to note that the Dolphins ran just 50 plays against the Raiders. That total was the fifth-lowest in the league. While it's easy to say they need to run the ball more, they also need to sustain drives and keep the chains moving. That falls on everybody.
The 49ers and Raiders are obviously in vastly different places as teams, but they are similarly built. In addition to their weaker interior defensive lines, they each feature one otherworldly pass rusher. After facing Maxx Crosby in Week 1, the Dolphins' offensive line gets to line up against Nick Bosa in Week 2. Nick's father, John Bosa, was a failed Dolphins first-round pick in 1987, perhaps providing him with a little extra juice to terrorize his hometown team.
The greatest takeaway from the Raiders' loss is just how dire things can get when Miami gets behind and is forced to throw the ball to its inexperienced receiving corps repeatedly. The Dolphins may wind up being behind a lot this season. That doesn't mean they shouldn't take the field trying to win.
The key to winning for this version of the Miami Dolphins is relatively simple on the surface: feed De'Von Achane. Despite the two-score loss and modest rushing totals, the left side of the offensive line graded out well. That is surely what general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan anticipated when he made Kadyn Proctor his first-ever draft selection.
The path to stealing a victory (or a couple) in 2026 is behind six-foot-seven, 325-pound left tackle Patrick Paul and six-foot-seven, 360-pound left guard Kadyn Proctor. In a game of strength and will, it's not rocket science. Pound the rock, Bobby Slowik.
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