Dolphins 2023 Week 4 Power Rankings Roundup
After the way they dismantled the Denver Broncos on Sunday, let alone stand as one of only three unbeaten teams through three weeks, the Miami Dolphins absolutely belong at or near the top of anybody NFL's power rankings.
And that's exactly where they stand in our weekly survey of 12 national outlets — CBS Sports, NFL.com, Pro Football Network, The Sporting News, USA Today, Sports Illustrated, The Athletic, The 33rd Team, Touchdown Wire, The Score, Yahoo and FOX Sports — that produced weekly power rankings.
The Dolphins' average position is 2.4, up from the 4.9 after Week 2. The Dolphins are ranked No. 1 by almost half of the 12 outlets (five, to be precise) and are below third in only two of them.
Here's the breakdown of the Dolphins' 12 power rankings spots, along with the commentary associated with it:
CBS Sports
Ranking: 4 Previous: 6
Analysis: They are downright scary on offense. The Bills game Sunday will be their biggest proving game of the season so far.
NFL.com
Ranking: 1 Previous: 5
Analysis: We should have guessed that a team averaging 30 points and 462.5 yards of offense per game on the road would really be able to cook at home. But 70 points? And 726 yards?! Imagine what the Dolphins would have done with Jaylen Waddle on the field. New England holding Miami to 389 yards and 24 points in Week 2 looks downright heroic now. Of course, the Pats barely saw De'Von Achane in that one. The rookie back hopped into a featured role Sunday and blasted off. Just what this offense needs: more speed. According to Next Gen Stats, Dolphins players are now responsible for the five fastest individual speeds recorded on a given play this season, with three by Tyreek Hill and one apiece from Achane and Raheem Mostert.
Touchdown Wire
Ranking: 3 Previous: 6
Analysis: 70 points. 7-0. 10 touchdowns. The Dolphins were playing Madden with all of the sliders turned down and just running all over Denver for *checks notes* 726 yards, good Lord. This team is as dangerous as any in the league.
The Score
Ranking: 1 Previous: 4
Analysis: De'Von Achane didn't have an impact on Miami's first two games, but the rookie running back showed how valuable he can be in Week 3. He racked up 233 scrimmage yards and four touchdowns to help the Dolphins earn a historic win.
Sports Illustrated
Ranking: 1 Previous: 5
Analysis: The Dolphins scored 70 points without Jaylen Waddle. Think about that. Say it to yourself out loud, in the mirror. It was a complete dress-down humiliation of an opponent. The Dolphins were scoring at will. This is such a multi-level confidence booster, and you can see Tua Tagovailoa developing into a surefire franchise quarterback. Mike McDaniel has artfully emboldened a quarterback who many, self included, wrote off a long time ago. I’m sorry to every other franchise, but if you score 70 points in a week, you get to be No. 1.
The 33rd Team
Ranking: 3 Previous: 5
Analysis: “Wow” is really all that can be said about the Miami Dolphins’ assault on the Denver Broncos’ defense. The Dolphins scored 70 points without WR Jaylen Waddle. Miami purposely stacks speed in its passing and running games, and as we saw in Week 3, the ceiling for this group is unimaginable. Miami’s defense was the driving factor behind its Week 2 win in New England. As long as the Dolphins core pieces stay healthy, they can beat anyone.
Pro Football Network
Ranking: 3 Previous: 6
Analysis: The Dolphins gained 726 yards on offense against the Broncos, which is the most all-time. They scored 70 points, just three shy of the 73 points that Chicago scored in 1940. For a modern-day game in a salary cap league, it’s embarrassing to allow a day like that. But boy, does this Dolphins offense look special. They did that to Denver without Jaylen Waddle! For a while, it appeared Tua Tagovailoa wouldn’t have an incompletion all game. Rookie De’Von Achane ran for 200 yards. Raheem Mostert picked up 82 himself.
The Sporting News
Ranking: 3 Previous: 5
Analysis: The Dolphins need to shore up a few things defensively under Vic Fangio and will be helped with healthier bodies, including Jalen Ramsey. But offensively, they keep finding more speed to boost Tua Tagovailoa and Tyreek Hill, now with a dynamic 1-2 punch in the running game with Raheem Mostert and rookie De'Von Achane. Seventy points in any era screams true Super Bowl contention.
USA Today
Ranking: 3 Previous: 6
Analysis: The balance in Sunday's thrashing of Denver was truly epic, Miami becoming the first team to post 350 yards rushing and passing in the same game – this while scoring five TDs on the ground and five more through the air. The Fins' 1,651 total yards through three games are a league record, and their 130 points are two shy of the mark at the same juncture. And still hard to believe they put up 70 points. Just wait until they get WR Jaylen Waddle, among others, back. Still, before we crown 'em, let's acknowledge they've got some defensive issues and have done all this damage against a trio of teams that's collectively 2-7. Let's see what happens at Buffalo.
The Athletic
Ranking: 1 Previous: 2
Analysis: The only thing anyone in South Florida is worried about is Tua Tagovailoa’s health. On Sunday, he had a passer rating of 155.8, the highest in any game since Matthew Stafford had a 156.1 against the Bears in 2021, according to TruMedia. Tagovailoa completed 23 of 26 passes for 309 yards and four touchdowns as the Dolphins’ offensive dominance continued. Miami took a knee on fourth-and-14 at the Denver 28-yard line on their final play rather than attempt a 45-yard field goal that would have allowed them to tie the NFL’s all-time single-game scoring record. Tagovailoa is averaging a league-best 10.1 yards per attempt (two full yards more than anyone else) AND he’s completing 71.3 percent of his passes, which ranks sixth in the league.
Yahoo
Ranking: 5 Previous: 6
Analysis: The Dolphins have many reasons for their rise, but one of the key reasons is simple: Miami values world-class speed, and speed is still a tremendously valuable asset in practically any sport.
FOX Sports
Ranking: 1 Previous: 3
Analysis: The numbers the Dolphins put up in their 70-20 romp over Denver are the type of thing reserved for your Madden dynasty — and even then, I’d tell you to increase the difficulty level. Tua Tagovailoa threw more touchdowns than incompletions, two different Dolphins running backs scored four touchdowns, and the defense forced three turnovers. It was a performance we’ve never seen before in the modern NFL and entirely deserving of a jump to No. 1.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks for reading. Make sure to bookmark this site and check back daily for the latest Dolphins news and analysis year-round. Check out our daily podcast (All Dolphins Podcast) on YouTube and also available wherever you get your audio podcasts under Miami Dolphins Insider on the Fans First Sports Network. Also, you can follow me on Twitter at @PoupartNFL, and that's where you can ask questions for the regular All Dolphins mailbags. You also can ask questions via email at fnalldolphins@yahoo.com.
