Miami Dolphins running back Ollie Gordon II made the most of his minimal chances this past Sunday as De'Von Achane's replacement, running for 100 yards on only nine carries in a 15-10 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
If not for the ridiculously lopsided possession time in Week 4, Gordon likely would've done way more damage in Minnesota. Even if you take out his 53-yard long run, he still averaged almost six yards per carry on his other seven attempts.
Week 5's home matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals gives Gordon a great chance to build on that stellar performance versus the Vikings.
Bengals aren't as good vs. the run as their reputable defensive line would suggest
As long as the Dolphins' offensive line can somewhat hold up their end of the bargain for Ollie Gordon II, he should find success on Sunday.
When you see big names like Dexter Lawrence, Jonathan Allen, and Boye Mafe headlining the Bengals' defensive line, you'd expect them to be stout against the run. Despite the constant double teams drawn by Lawrence, that's not so much the case.
In fact, Cincinnati yields an average of 4.5 yards per carry. It gets even worse when Sexy Dexy is off the field. With Lawrence on the sidelines, Jacksonville tailback Chris Rodriguez raced 26 yards to the end zone untouched in the Jaguars' 22-17 win at Cincinnati.
The Dexter Lawrence on/off splits are continuing, and they are staggering. This week:
— Jake Liscow (@JakeLiscow) October 5, 2026
46 Plays ON
+0.04 EPA/Play
39.1% Success Rate
12.2% Explosive Play Rate
5.3 Yards/Play
12 Plays OFF
+0.46 EPA/Play
50% Success Rate
36.4% Explosive Play Rate
9.8 Yards/Play
All Gordon needs is just a sliver of a crease to get to the second level of the Bengals' defense where he can really wreak havoc. And whenever Lawrence isn't on the gridiron, it's pretty much a guaranteed explosive play.
Gordon's punishing physicality as a runner is Cincinnati's worst nightmare
Listed at 6'2", 225 pounds, Gordon may not be the fleetest of foot by NFL standards, but he's a powerful runner who's an absolute load to bring down in space.
PFF grades the Bengals as the third-worst tackling team in all of football. That honestly might be a little generous given some of the tackling efforts these eyes have witnessed of late from the likes of Jordan Battle and others.
Cincinnati's tacklers don't look dissimilar to these feeble attempts by the Vikings on Gordon's latest touchdown run:
Ollie Gordon finds the End Zone for the @MiamiDolphins! 👏
— NFL UK & Ireland (@NFLUKIRE) October 4, 2026
Miami are now within two points of 3-0 Minnesota 👀
Watch Dolphins v Vikings on NFL Game Pass on DAZN 📺 pic.twitter.com/C9k1tzefP7
In Week 4, Gordon averaged about 8.9 yards after contact per carry. Sounds like an absolute nightmare for a bad tackling team, no?
Beyond the suspect linebacker duo of Barrett Carter and Demetrius Knight Jr., Cincinnati's safety room is very thin at the minute. Free agent signing Bryan Cook has an ankle injury, Kyle Dugger is dealing with a quad, and Battle is the only typical starting-caliber player who's virtually guaranteed to be in the lineup.
Dolphins offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik hails from the Kyle Shanahan coaching tree. He's inclined to run more of an outside zone type of run scheme.
If Miami can get on the perimeter and away from the Bengals' Lawrence-led interior d-line, Gordon should be able to exploit the rather mediocre tackling abilities of Cincinnati's secondary. As good as Bengals cornerback DJ Turner is in coverage, he doesn't exactly bring the thunder in run support.
