Believe it or not, there is indeed a silver lining to the Miami Dolphins’ defensive effort against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 2
San Francisco’s top two backs averaged just 2.7 yards per carry against the Miami Dolphins in Week 2 — a meaningful step forward after Miami got gashed on the ground in Week 1.
Nobody likes moral victories. But the 2026 Miami Dolphins are going to collect their fair share of them this season, and the Week 2 loss to the San Francisco 49ers is no exception.
In a 35-13 defeat, the Dolphins defense made a clear, conscious decision: they were not going to let the 49ers run the ball the way the Raiders did in Week 1. Nor how the 49ers ran the ball in Week 1 against the Los Angeles Rams. It worked. Between Christian McCaffrey and Kaelon Black, San Francisco’s two top running backs averaged just 2.8 yards per carry from scrimmage. Neither back had a run longer than 6 yards.
The Miami Dolphins’ run defense takes a step forward amid an otherwise woeful defensive performance against San Francisco
That mark is a significant improvement over what Ashton Jeanty and Mike Washington did on the ground against Miami a week ago. The top two backs for Las Vegas posted 4.77 yards per carry on 30 carries in Week 1. The 49ers? The combination of McCaffrey and Black logged 5.54 yards per carry against the Rams in Week 1 on 24 carries.
The Dolphins took their medicine in a different area to get that result, though. Committing to shutting down the ground game reared its head on the back end. Miami simply could not properly space the field and cover against Brock Purdy, George Kittle, Mike Evans, and company. It showed up on the scoreboard in a big way.
The reality is that the Dolphins don’t have the horses to play effectively in all phases defensively right now. This roster is still in its early stages of construction, and that means picking your poison on a week-to-week basis. In Week 2, Miami picked the run, and the results there were encouraging even if the final score was ugly.
You can call it a small victory. You can call it grasping at straws. But identifying tangible, week-over-week improvement matters for a team in the Dolphins’ position. The Dolphins will take their wins where they can get them in the early chapters of this season. Defending the run more effectively is a nice foundation to build on for next week.
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