You won’t believe how bad the Dolphins’ in-depth run game numbers are from their Week 5 loss to the Carolina Panthers
19 rushing yards somehow isn’t the worst measure of Miami’s rushing effort against the Panthers.
Fourteen attempts for 19 yards don’t necessarily need a lot of context. That’s what the Miami Dolphins were working with on the ground against the Carolina Panthers in Week 5 — and that was despite the team’s acquisition of an early 17-0 lead that looked to have the Dolphins on a path to 2-3 this season.
The trenches of these two football teams had other plans. Miami faltered and Carolina got stronger as the game went on, and Miami would ultimately lose, 27-24. The Dolphins now sit at 1-4 on the season.
How did this happen? The recipe started on first down.
Miami’s failure to block runs on first downs proved catastrophic against Carolina
The Miami Dolphins ran the ball eight times on first down against the Panthers on Sunday. One of those runs saw the running back break through the line of scrimmage without being contacted. In all, the Dolphins running backs were given -10 rushing yards before contact on eight first-down carries. Negative 10! The full breakdown of yards before contact per rush on first down:
0, -2, 2, 0, -3, -3, 0, -4
Six of the eight first down run attempts went off the left side of the line of scrimmage — Miami’s supposed strength of the unit. But whether it was extra defenders flooding down off the edge unblocked or star defensive tackle Derrick Brown making a play at the point of attack, the Dolphins simply had no answers.
The lowest single-game rushing marks of the Mike McDaniel era with the Dolphins
- 19 yards on 14 carries – loss vs. Carolina Panthers (2025)
- 33 yards on 8 carries – loss vs. San Francisco 49ers (2022)
- 39 yards on 14 carries – loss vs. Green Bay Packers (2024)
- 41 yards on 17 carries – win vs. Buffalo Bills (2022)
- 44 yards on 19 carries – win vs. New York Jets (2025)
There have only been two games played in the NFL since Mike McDaniel was hired as the Dolphins’ head coach in 2022 in which an NFL team has rushed for fewer than 19 yards in a game. One was by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2022 while facing the Kansas City Chiefs (six rush attempts for three yards), and the other was the Minnesota Vikings against the Detroit Lions in 2023 (11 rushing attempts for 17 yards).
Let’s put this another way. You remember the first game of the Dolphins’ teardown season in 2019? The one with the skeleton crew of misfit toys hobbled together to create a roster after stripping down any player of value off the roster? A 59-10 drubbing against the Baltimore Ravens?
THAT team in THAT game ran for more yards than the Dolphins did on Sunday against the Panthers after being spotted a 17-point lead. You have to go back to 2015 to find a Miami Dolphins performance with fewer rushing yards. Sunday in Charlotte is about as bad as it gets, especially for a head coach whose background is rooted in the run game.
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