Dolphins' running game contributes as Miami tops Cleveland to improve to 7-3 at the bye week
MIAMI GARDENS– Mike McDaniel could’ve kept calling his running backs number all day long Sunday.
Probably would've worked, too. It was the type of rushing performance he had been waiting on and dreaming about since he first got to Miami. And after nine, frustrating, slow weeks where his team couldn’t get a whole lot going on the ground, it all came together during Miami’s 39-17 win against the Browns at Hard Rock Stadium.
“It’s something you’re very proud of as a coach because this entire group really dedicates themselves to the craft,” McDaniel said in his postgame press conference. “There was a lot of talk about our run game because of the past success I’ve been fortunate enough to have and guys were excited about the system. And when you don’t have immediate results you get to learn a lot about people.
“So, it was awesome to see that collective effort really bear fruit.”
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Sunday was the first time this season that Miami ran more than it passed, 33 rushes to 32 pass attempts. Its rushing attack, spearheaded by Jeff Wilson’s 119 yards, left the Browns completely helpless for most of the afternoon.
The freshly acquired Wilson has quietly become one of the best acquisitions of this year’s trade deadline, fitting right in with the rest of Miami’s electric offense and helping further unlock the potential of its wide-zone running scheme.
“I don’t know who pisses off Jeff Wilson before every game, but it’s fun to watch,” defensive lineman Christian Wilkins said. “He makes you feel it.”
Wilson couldn’t have written a better script for his home debut.
“It was crazy, it was electric,” he said. “It was beautiful and it was all that I imagined.”
But perhaps the best part of Miami’s rushing performance Sunday was that it wasn’t just about Wilson. The entire running back room managed to get a piece of the pie. Wilson, Raheem Mostert and even fullback Alec Ingold got into the end zone.
Teammates together in San Francisco, Mostert and Wilson did the bulk of their damage on the ground, combining for most of Miami’s season-high 195 rushing yards.
Meanwhile, Ingold, known for his blocking more than his hands, caught all four of his targets and got his second career touchdown on a 13-yard reception to open the scoring.
“I’m never gonna ask for the ball, but if you get it to me, I’m gonna do something with it,” Ingold said. “That’s the mantra I’ve always lived by.”
That seemed to be the mantra of the entire running back group Sunday.
Every time someone out of the backfield got the ball, something special happened, Wilson and Mostert kept getting yards with every carry and got stronger as the game went on. The two averaged 7.0 and 8.1 yards per carry, respectively.
It was the type of group-wide performance that left quarterback Tua Tagovailoa in awe.
“I’ve never been a part of a back field like that before, so this is cool,” Tagovailoa said.
Offensive line deserves credit too
Seeing the running game get going was especially fulfilling to watch for Mostert, who has been adamant in past weeks that Miami was close to a breakthrough on the ground. He was quick to give praise to the offensive line and credits them with a lot of the success.
“We definitely are starting to establish the line of scrimmage a lot more,” Mostert said. “That’s definitely the most important thing in regards to a run game, we just got to grow off that. You got a quarterback that is doing an unbelievable job, in my opinion, I think he’s leading the race for MVP. We’re just doing our thing right now.”
Most of the conversation has surrounded Tagovailoa and the team’s passing game along with Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. But with the emergence of the rushing attack, Miami looked less like a one trick pony and more like a true title contender.
If it can be sustained, Sunday’s performance looked like the beginning of one of the most balanced and scary offenses in the league. Miami dropped 39 points with Hill and Waddle combining for just nine receptions.
As someone who knows what this offense looks like at full tilt, Wilson can’t help but get excited to see what it’ll be able to accomplish after the bye week. Especially with weapons everywhere you look.
“We want it to run through us,” Wilson said of the running backs' role in the offense. “Obviously, the pass game is always there, but that’s kind of been the saying ‘Well, they’re gonna pass to open up the run.’ No, we’re gonna run to open up the pass. But either way, however we win is a win and that’s the way we’re gonna roll.
“Receivers are great, running backs are great, o-line is great. Quarterback, supernatural.”
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Jeff Wilson, Raheem Mostert help Miami Dolphins beat Cleveland Browns
