Following their loss to the Chicago Bears on Thursday Night Football last week, the Patriots must prepare for yet another top rushing offense in the Miami Dolphins.
The 1–5 Dolphins are hardly a threat in the division, but New England can’t overlook the success Miami has had on the ground, especially considering the resilience that unit has shown after Pro Bowl running back De’Von Achane went down with a season-ending injury in Week 3.
The Dolphins have posted five straight games with 100 rushing yards or more—the longest active streak in the NFL. The Patriots managed to hold the league-best Bears rushing attack below their 160-yard average last week (the Bears finished with 116), holding lead back D’Andre Swift to just 3.5 yards per carry.
Miami has benefited from an offensive line that has enjoyed clean injury luck through Week 7. Four of their five starters have played 100% of the offensive snaps, while guard Jonah Savaiinaea has missed just over 14% of snaps this season.
Young running back Ollie Gordon II is coming off a 103-yard performance in Miami’s first victory of the year, a 28–25 win over the New York Jets. He also rushed for 100 yards against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 5, averaging 11.1 yards per carry.
Miami quarterback Malik Willis is another runner to keep an eye on: he has the second-most rushing yards (223) and touchdowns (3) among quarterbacks in the entire NFL, trailing only Josh Allen.
The Patriots' defense ranks eighth in opponent rushing yards per game (95.3) and 12th in yards per attempt (3.9).
No single Patriots player makes the top 10 in ESPN’s Edge Run Stop Win Rate or Defensive Tackle Run Stop Win Rate rankings. As a team, the Patriots rank 21st in Run Stop Win Rate, defined by ESPN as a metric tracking how often a defensive player or front-seven unit defeats their block in the run game. The Patriots succeed on 29% of plays, while the league-leading Cleveland Browns execute on 34%.
Head coach Mike Vrabel highlighted tackling as a primary focus during self-scouting over the mini-bye following Thursday Night Football, noting that the team missed over a dozen tackles in the loss to the Bears.
