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Dolphins film study: How Miami’s ground game shifted gears against the Browns

In the Dolphins’ first nine games of the 2022 season, their revamped offense was led by the passing game, a pivot from the reputation of head coach Mike McDaniel, who helped craft punishing ground games with the San Francisco 49ers.

But in Miami’s 39-17 win over the Cleveland Browns, the offense unlocked a season-best rushing performance, totaling 195 yards on the ground. It was a clinic for the run-game wizardry of McDaniel, who pulled out a variety of concepts filled with staple zone runs, pre-snap motion and pulling linemen.

The Dolphins’ 195 rushing yards were the most they’ve gained since the 2021 season finale and the next step forward for an offense that has looked like one of the league’s most dangerous units since quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s return from a concussion in Week 7.

From the Dolphins’ opening possession, it was clear the Browns wanted to prevent the deep passing plays that Miami has executed in recent weeks. Cleveland lined up with two deep safeties — protection against Miami’s prolific passing game — on the first four plays. On the 10-play, 84-yard touchdown drive, the Browns were in some form of a two-high shell before the snap on six plays, leaving an additional defender out of the box to commit to the run. On six of those plays, the Dolphins ran four times, totaling 38 yards, including a pair of 10-plus yard runs by Jeff Wilson Jr.

On Wilson’s 18-yard run, the Dolphins used a power concept, pulling right guard Robert Hunt to the playside — the side that the run is going toward — to seal a block on a second-level defender. Fullback Alec Ingold, already in motion, had a kickout block, engaging the edge defender. Left tackle Terron Armstead and left guard Robert Jones worked together to double-team the defensive tackle before Armstead disengaged and moved to the second level to seal a linebacker on the second level. The combination of blocks sprung Wilson for one of his four runs that gained at least 10 yards in the game.

One factor that made defending the run so difficult was that the Browns frequently left an extra defender out of the box. The Dolphins saw Cover 4, a zone concept that places four defenders deep in coverage, on a season-high 35.8 percent of plays. According to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats, Wilson faced a neutral box (seven defenders in the box) or a light box (six or fewer defenders) on all but two of his 17 carries.

The Dolphins also utilized a lot of similar personnel and tendencies opponents see from their passing game. According to ESPN, 150 of the Dolphins’ rushing yards came with pre-snap motion.

On Raheem Mostert’s 24-yard touchdown run, the Dolphins put Ingold in motion before the snap and used a split zone concept, with Ingold cutting across the face of the play to block a backside defender. So many of the Dolphins’ pass plays begin with a player motioning across the formation and then running a route. In this case, the motion froze linebacker Deon Jones. By the time Jones realized Mostert had the ball, he was heading through the running lane and racing the defense to the pylon.

Wilson’s 20-yard touchdown run came from the same concept, but this time wide receiver Tyreek Hill was in motion. Ingold’s backside block created a cutback lane for Wilson, who shimmied past a defender in the lane before sprinting to the end zone.

For as successful as the Dolphins’ passing game has been, the offense has often been missing a running component. After Sunday’s game, the Dolphins rank tied for 23rd in rushing yards per attempt (4.2) and yards per game (97.7). However, Football Outsiders’ efficiency metrics, which take into account the quality of opponents faced, sees the rushing game more favorably, ranking it 17th in the league.

With teams devoting so many resources to stop Miami through the air, gaining some traction on the ground — especially without stacked boxes — could force opponents to make a difficult decision regarding how to stop its offense.

“There was a lot of talk about our run game and just because of the past successes that I’ve been fortunate enough to have myself, and guys were excited about the system,” McDaniel said Sunday. “When you don’t have immediate results, you get to learn a lot about people. And in this particular circumstance, we have a bunch of guys really working at the craft at a level that you need to really attack something when you are playing an opponent at the National Football League. So it was awesome to see that collective effort really bear fruit.”

Browns sign DT Stille from Dolphins’ practice squad

The Browns are signing defensive tackle Ben Stille to their 53-man roster from the Dolphins’ practice squad, ESPN reported Tuesday.

Stille was an option to be signed to the active roster and give the Dolphins defensive line depth after Emmanuel Ogbah’s season-ending triceps injury on Sunday.

Stille, 25, was with Miami during training camp and had been elevated for the team’s Week 7 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played nine snaps in the victory, recording two tackles.

Outside linebacker Brennan Scarlett, who reached an injury settlement with the team in the summer, is now healthy and will work out for the Dolphins during the bye week.