The Dolphins have based their offense off of their abundance of speed, but that might not be enough to contend for the Super Bowl in 2024.
Over the past couple of years, the Miami Dolphins have successfully pushed themselves into playoff contention. From 2017-2019, the team went through a bit of a rebuilding phase, and struggled to find ways to win. By the time the 2020 season rolled around, though, things had started to change a bit.
Miami went 10-6 in 2020, and followed that up with a 9-8 record in both 2021 and 2022. They were better in 2023, going 11-6 and just nearly missing out on the AFC East title. Unfortunately, that regular season success hasn’t translated to the playoffs, as the Dolphins have been dispatched in the Wild Card round in each of the past two years.
The Dolphins have steadily made improvements to their offense, and one thing they’ve been focused on is speed. Speed is evident throughout their roster, and it’s what the unit as a whole is based around. Will their speed be enough to compete for the Super Bowl in 2024, or do they still lack the necessary physicality?
When it comes to speed, there’s no shortage of it in Miami. Arguably, the Dolphins’ best player, Tyreek Hill, is one of the fastest players in the entire NFL, and a large portion of their offense is based around getting him the ball down the field.
The Dolphins had a total of 4,698 receiving yards in the 2023 season, and Hill accounted for a significant portion of those, finishing just one yard shy of 1,800 yards on the year.
Aside from Hill, speed is evident in the rest of the receiving room. Jaylen Waddle starts opposite of Hill, and his game is also predicated around speed. Waddle also had just over 1,000 receiving yards on the year, with an impressive 14.1 yards per reception, showcasing his ability to get down the field. Behind Waddle, Miami added Odell Beckham Jr. to the fold this offseason, who has some speed as well.
The speed doesn’t end in the receiving room though. It’s evident in the backfield as well. Raheem Mostert had an excellent year in 2023, racking up 1,012 yards on an efficient 4.8 yards per carry. Behind him was De’Von Achane, who totaled 800 rushing yards on an even more impressive 7.8 yards per carry.
Focusing an offense around speed is not a bad idea at all. Fast backs and fast receivers often create space for each other, tire out the defense over the course of a game, and get open faster, which means the quarterback doesn’t have to hold the ball as long in the pocket. The aspect of speed can really help the entire offense as a whole, and it gets tiring and frustrating for opposing teams.
However, it’s hard to have success in the playoffs when your offense is only really focused on one thing. While the Dolphins have the most speed at their skill posititions of really any team in the league, they don’t have a ton of physicality. There aren’t any receivers on the roster that can consistently go up and grab a ball in physical, double coverage, and neither of their best two running backs are physical runners either.
This type of situation has thwarted the Dolphins before, especially in their playoff loss to the Kansas City Chiefs last season. Miami had to travel to Kansas City, and play in one of the coldest NFL games of all-time.
In a situation like that, against a Chiefs’ defense with a load of playoff experience, it’s very hard to win a game when your game-plan is based around speed. The Dolphins lacked physicality, and it came back to bite them, as the Chiefs dominated Miami by a score of 26-7.
Speed works, until you get into a situation where you can’t fully utilize it. That’s a situation Miami found themselves in during the playoffs last year, and their lack of physicality hurt them. Miami didn’t do much to change that this offseason, so it’s reasonable to expect a similar result in 2024.
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