This past Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium, the final score read Miami Dolphins 29, San Francisco 49ers 17.
Some critics of Mike McDaniel’s club chose to focus on his offense’s issues in terms of reaching the end zone. That enabled the Niners to stay in the game throughout most of the afternoon.
Miami finished the game with 381 total yards, but the offense managed only two touchdowns. The Dolphins' second trip to the end zone came via running back De’Von Achane’s 50-yard run with 1:36 left in the contest.
The win kept Miami's slim playoff hopes alive. What might have been lost in the 12-point victory was the fact that the Dolphins offense was not a one-man show for the first time in over a month.
Miami Dolphins ground game came out of hiding in win over the San Francisco 49ers
Entering last Sunday’s clash with the defending NFC champions, the Dolphins had gone six consecutive games without rushing for at least 100 yards. It was the club’s longest such stretch since 2019.
During that time, McDaniel’s team averaged only 58.2 yards per contest on the ground. Conversely, Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa threw 13 touchdown passes, but he was sacked 15 times and turned over the ball six times, including three interceptions and a lost fumble in the Week 15 loss to the Houston Texans.
On Sunday against. San Francisco, the ‘Fins ran 64 offensive plays (30 runs and 34 pass plays). McDaniel’s squad gained 166 yards on the ground (120 by Achane). Tagovailoa threw for 215 yards and one score (to Tyreek Hill), was not sacked, and did not commit a turnover.
The 166 rushing yards were the most by Miami since Week 7 against the Indianapolis Colts, and the 30 running plays were the most since a Week 9 matchup with the Buffalo Bills. Ironically, the Dolphins lost both of those games.
Yes, Miami did settle for five field goals by Jason Sanders, from 44, 38, 54, 33, and 48 yards, respectively. However, those points do indeed count.
More importantly, the Dolphins were able to keep Tagovailoa out of harm’s way. If Miami is to close out the season with wins in road games against the Cleveland Browns and New York Jets, giving an opposing defense a lot more to think about may be highly beneficial to a Dolphins team that still has an outside shot at the playoffs.