All-22 Takeaways From Dolphins Week 5 Win vs. Patriots
The Miami Dolphins finally got back into the win column in Week 5, defeating the New England Patriots 15-10. It wasn’t a pretty victory by any means.
The Dolphins continued their success at finding new and inventive ways to shoot themselves in the foot. However, it was clear from the first snaps that Miami had a somewhat more competent plan on offense this week, so when push came to shove, that won out.
The defense gave up a few explosives but was mostly dominant against one of the league’s worst offenses. The defensive line generated a ton of pressure but couldn’t quite finish sacks.
Special teams were a hot mess — putting it kindly.
Let’s dive into the film to see how the Dolphins finally got a win after struggling to do anything remotely good through most of September.
Miami Ran The Dang Ball
If you’ve read this column at all during the season, then you know I’ve asked the Dolphins to run the ball more often quite a bit. Well, they finally did it against New England, leading to success.
Miami ran the ball 41 times on Sunday and averaged 4.7 yards per carry, a season-high. A big reason for that was Mike McDaniel’s commitment to the run down the stretch.
On the team’s 15-play, 80-yard touchdown drive, the Dolphins ran the ball 11 times for 67 yards, averaging roughly 6.0 yards per carry. It was an impressive performance that blended good blocking with quality running back play for the first time in weeks.
That quality upgrade at running back largely came from Raheem Mostert, who returned from injury and stabilized the Dolphins’ run game with his consistent approach.
Great cut by Mostert, who then finds yards after contact. pic.twitter.com/65SLUwDmtO
— Dante Collinelli (@DanteCollinelli) October 7, 2024
Mostert did an excellent job cutting back inside on outside runs on Sunday. The rep above is an excellent example. Alec Ingold is leading the way on a stretch concept from the pistol. De’Von Achane was always trying to bounce this run all the way outside.
It made life hard on Miami’s outside blockers, but Mostert knows better. He follows Ingold right through the small gap and gets upfield for a solid gain.
Great inside cut again, and he runs through contact for more yards. Look at the physicality! pic.twitter.com/FG1370hvIe
— Dante Collinelli (@DanteCollinelli) October 7, 2024
This is another run where Mostert’s inside cut leads to a solid run. Miami loves to run these toss concepts, but they haven’t been effective in recent weeks. Mostert changes things because of how he finished runs.
Mostert gets between three and five yards just running through contact on this play. The lack of that physical edge and production likely kept Miami from committing to the running game against Seattle and Tennessee.
Mostert raises the running game’s floor by a lot. Even if the blocking isn’t perfect, he can put his head down and pick up a few yards, keeping the offense on schedule.
Great cut + patience for this explosive. He doesn’t try to bounce it when his guys lose (Ingold saved the rep). Wright just gets north to south. pic.twitter.com/5PFht7oUtb
— Dante Collinelli (@DanteCollinelli) October 7, 2024
We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention Jaylen Wright’s performance, too. The rookie finished with 86 yards on 13 carries and was a huge factor in the team’s game-winning 80-yard drive.
The run above was my favorite from Wright because it shows how effective he can be as a north-to-south runner. This should’ve been a lost rep. Aaron Brewer gets man-handled up front, but Ingold saves the day by getting just enough of the Patriot’s defensive linemen to open up a lane for Wright.
However, Wright deserves a lot of credit for staying patient and allowing Ingold to set the stage for him. In previous weeks, Wright was a little impatient — although still more patient than Achane.
Once he sees the hole, Wright explodes into the second level for the explosive run. The Dolphins got downhill with their bigger backs and finally created a competent offense.
Using those more physical backs also allowed Miami to run between the tackles more often. On runs charted from left guard to right guard, Miami had 17 carries for 93 yards. They wore down New England’s defense and put them away late in the game.
This has to be the game plan as long as Tua is on the shelf.
Defensive Dominance
Pour one out for Jacoby Brissett. Anthony Weaver’s defense put the former Dolphins quarterback under siege in Week 5. Despite only recording two sacks, Miami pressured Brissett on 16 of his 36 dropbacks.
Miami did this by blitzing at its highest rate of the season (30.6%), beating out the 25 percent blitz rate against the Buffalo Bills in Week 2.
Anthony Weaver was cooking yesterday.
Threatens 7 rushers pre-snap and only sends 4 all to Brissett’s right. The looper would’ve got home because the back was confused, but Sieler just beat his man anyway. pic.twitter.com/AD3wsVIpIr
— Dante Collinelli (@DanteCollinelli) October 7, 2024
This was my favorite look of the day, even though I’m not certain it counts as a blitz. The Dolphins threaten seven rushers at the snap, including linebackers Jordy Brooks and David Long, as well as safety Jevon Holland, who was all the way outside at the top of the screen.
However, they drop the two-ish rushers at the bottom of the screen (Long and Chop Robinson), while Brooks just rushes to keep contain on the outside.
New England actually should’ve had this blocked up. It had four blockers (3 linemen, 1 back) for Miami’s four rushers. Despite this, the twist-action confuses the back. He saw the double stack alignment outside and decided to help there, allowing Emmanuel Ogbah to get a free run.
The only reason Ogbah doesn’t get the sack is because Zach Sieler makes an outstanding individual play and just wins his 1-on-1 matchup before Ogbah can get home.
This was a simulated pressure. The Dolphins rushed a defensive back (Holland) and dropped a defensive lineman/edge into coverage (Robinson). The added twist action just makes life even harder on New England’s banged-up offensive line.
Speaking of twists, the Dolphins generated a nice pressure for rookie Chop Robinson later in the game using a similar concept.
Another twist upfront gets Chop Robinson a free run at Brissett, forcing a slightly off target throw. pic.twitter.com/VJ62lUN6kG
— Dante Collinelli (@DanteCollinelli) October 7, 2024
This isn’t a simulated pressure. The Dolphins show five at the snap, with Long walked up over the right guard. Again, New England has enough blockers to wall this off. They have five linemen, and the back is to Brissett’s left.
However, Sieler and Calais Campbell rush to the outside, pulling the Patriots’ offensive line to the right. Then, Chop loops around to the center of the line and gets another free run at Brissett. Think of what Sieler and Campbell did on this play as setting a screen in basketball.
All it did was make the Patriots’ offensive line think on its feet and put an inexperienced player in a good position to make a play.
Blitzing the Patriots made a ton of sense since they were starting unproven backups at center and right tackle on Sunday, but I wouldn’t expect Miami to suddenly become a blitz-happy team.
The Dolphins have given up some big plays and faced some of the league’s worst offensive lines (Jaguars, Titans, Seahawks, Patriots), but Weaver seems to be pushing the right buttons right now.
Don’t look now, but a competent downhill run game and solid defense might be enough to get Miami to 3-3 before Tua’s first chance to return from injured reserve vs. the Cardinals.
McDaniel Finally Kept Running The Football In Big Win
The post All-22 Takeaways From Dolphins Week 5 Win vs. Patriots appeared first on Miami Dolphins.
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