The Miami Dolphins left a major clue to their new-look offense on Friday night—but if you blinked, you may have missed it
Did you manage to catch the big clue in the Miami Dolphins’ offensive performance on Friday night?
The Miami Dolphins‘ full experience on Friday night leaves the team with a whole bunch of corrections to make. Miami started fast but quickly fizzled offensively. The defense had a similar feel, too.
But as much as the reaction to this game is about the scoreboard, which read 20-7 Commanders when the clock hit triple zeroes, there are other storylines afoot. Primary among them was the debut of two new schemes in Miami. Offensively, the Bobby Slowik imprint on the offense was felt far beyond simply having an athletic quarterback with a stronger arm than the last guy. Did you manage to catch the biggest clue of something new?
Did you catch the big different in the Miami Dolphins’ running game against the Commanders?
If you didn’t take note, it wasn’t whether or not Miami ran the football. They were among the highest run percentage teams of 2025, too. But it was where they ran the football against the Commanders that should have your attention. Here’s a rundown of where the Miami Dolphins hit their runs in their first two possessions, with the starting offensive line (or some variation of it) in the game.
| Middle (Achane) | +5 yards |
| Right guard (Achane) | +14 yards |
| Left guard (Achane) | +5 yards |
| Middle (Achane) | +7 yards |
| Right tackle (Achane) | +6 yards |
| Right guard (Achane) | +1 yard |
| Left guard (Achane) | +1 yard (Touchdown) |
| Middle (Wright) | +13 yards |
| Middle (Gordon II) | +9 yards |
| Right guard (Gordon II) | +3 yards |
Compartmentalize who did and didn’t play for Washington. This isn’t necessarily about the raw yardage or the end result. It’s about where they buttered their bread. The Dolphins hit one of their first 10 designed runs off right tackle and the rest of those runs all hit between the tackles.
That’s a major shift from an outside running game that attacked the perimeter more frequently than any other team in football last season. Is this some grand red herring? Or is it a sign of a new offense in Miami and of things to come? We’ll need more data points to know for sure.
But for now, the between the tackles approach is one to watch, especially if they keep finding similar success throughout the rest of the preseason and beyond.
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