Why the Running Game Has Been Grounded and How It Can Get Fixed

The Miami Dolphins have struggled running the ball in recent games after a month of success

Green Bay Packers linebacker Quay Walker (7) tackles Miami Dolphins running back De'Von Achane (28) during the fourth quarter of their game Thursday, November 28, 2024 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. / Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Miami Dolphins running game was largely nonexistent for a fourth straight game in the team’s 30-17 loss against the Green Bay Packers on Thanksgiving night.

Miami finished the game with just 14 carries for 39 yards. If you remove Tua Tagovailoa’s two carries for six yards, the Dolphins finished with 12 carries for 33 yards from running backs.

That continued a trend that started in Week 9, following the Dolphins’ loss against the Buffalo Bills. Since that game, Miami has averaged 63.25 yards per game on the ground. In the previous four games, the Dolphins averaged 170 rushing yards per game.

Coach Mike McDaniel is a former running game coordinator, and the Dolphins backfield is filled with talented backs, so what’s happened to the running game? Let’s look at the film and stats to find out.

Miami Misses Austin Jackson

The most obvious reason Miami’s running game has regressed is the absence of starting right tackle Austin Jackson. He was placed on injured reserve following the Dolphins game against Buffalo, leaving Kendall Lamm to start.

Jackson is the only Dolphins offensive lineman who creates consistent displacement in the running game off the snap. Jackson plays with physicality in tight spaces, not just in open space.

Aaron Brewer and Terron Armstead are solid run blockers, but they rely more on finesse than moving defenders off their spot. Jackson can do both, and the Dolphins are missing his ability to win a 1-on-1 block.

A perfect example popped up in the game against the Packers. The Dolphins had a walk-in touchdown on second goal from the 1-yard line, down 27-11. However, Lamm lost his block on the outside, resulting in De’Von Achane getting stuffed.

It’s the goal to go one for me. Lamm just gets beat on what should’ve been a walk-in touchdown. https://t.co/7IIg9bZNb1 pic.twitter.com/XmqQDEcBQZ

— Dante Collinelli (@DanteCollinelli) November 29, 2024

Miami proceeded to call two pass plays and turned it over on downs after Tua Tagovailoa was sacked on fourth-and-goal.

• RELATED: Breaking down the goal-line failure

Since Lamm took over at right tackle, the Dolphins have rushed for 78 yards off the right side of the line, according to PFF. In Jackson’s last four starts, the Dolphins rushed for 214 yards off the right side.

Obviously, Jackson doesn’t deserve all the credit for that, and Lamm doesn’t deserve all the blame. However, it’s a pretty stark contrast when looking at how badly the splits fall off since Jackson suffered his injury.

It’s not just Lamm who’s struggling, either. Right guard Liam Eichenberg’s tendency to overextend on his blocks and get put to the ground is further highlighted with a worse player next to him.

Brewer and Armstead are still net positives for the offense overall, but they’ve had some mediocre performances in the past four games, too.

Miami’s last four games all rank in the bottom five this season in yards before contact, which measures how many yards the running back gets without dealing with contact. It’s not a perfect indicator of offensive line play, but it’s a pretty good one.

Without Jackson’s power and physicality, the Dolphins are missing an important cog in their line.

Less Volume & Less Efficiency

Another reason for the lack of rushing yards is that Miami is running the ball less often. Across the last four games, the Dolphins are averaging 21.5 carries per game. During the previous four-game stretch (Weeks 5-9), that number was 34.25 carries per game.

The obvious change during this stretch is Tua Tagovailoa's return from his concussion in Week 8. Miami ran the ball 41 times and 40 times in Weeks 5 and 7, respectively, which greatly skews the numbers listed above

In fact, in games Tua has started this season, the Dolphins are averaging 25.12 carries per game compared to 32.25 carries when he doesn’t start. Saying a team runs the ball more with a backup quarterback isn’t groundbreaking, but it’s part of the puzzle.

Miami's problem is that it hasn’t been efficient when running the football. The Dolphins’ success rate on runs has plummeted in the last four games. The team’s four worst running performances by success rate this season have come in the last four weeks.

The worst was Week 10 against the Rams when the team's rushing success rate was 19%. That mark is also the worst during the McDaniel era. The team’s best performance in the last four weeks was against the Raiders, which resulted in a 33% rushing success rate.

Thursday’s game against the Packers was a good microcosm of Miami’s struggles on every down. The Dolphins finished with -0.47 EPA per play on rushes against the Packers. It was -0.38 on early downs and -1.03 on late downs. The late-down sample size is super small, but it’s still not a good mark.

The lack of efficient running is partly due to everything mentioned already. The offensive line play has regressed, and there have been fewer opportunities.

How Do The Dolphins Fix It?

Finding solutions to Miami’s struggles is difficult because they’re largely personnel-based.

On the offensive line, Jackson isn’t returning, nor will Armstead and Brewer suddenly become different players. Eichenberg and Jones have always been below-average players who benefited from good players around them this season.

In the backfield, Miami’s two main backs, De’Von Achane and Raheem Mostert, are speed backs with average to below-average contact balance — they’re not built to deal with the amount of early contact they’ve gotten in recent weeks.

It would be easy to ask the Dolphins to call more running plays, but if they’re clearly struggling in that area, what’s the benefit of doing it more often?

Perhaps giving Jaylen Wright — a bigger back with better contact balance — more carries would produce more efficiency? However, it doesn’t seem like he has the coaching staff's trust right now.

They could try more runs from under center. It was their most efficient running formation against the Rams and led to big performances against the Colts and in Week 5 against New England.

The caveat is that those runs are typically better when the offensive line moves players off the line of scrimmage, which Miami isn’t doing well right now.

The more likely outcome is that the Dolphins will regress to the mean and capitalize on playing against some bad run defenses down the stretch. Three of their final games are against the Jets and Browns.

New York is 21st in rush yards allowed per game, and Cleveland is 23rd. While the Dolphins' personnel is imperfect, it’s too talented to continue running the ball this poorly. However, it should be noted that the Rams rank 29th in rush yards allowed per game, and Miami couldn’t do much against them.

There are no easy answers for the Dolphins in this area. The simple truth is they just need to execute better across the board.