Under the glow of the Miami sun, the 2023 Miami Dolphins (4-1) are creating a buzz around the NFL and a are leaving a significant imprint on the league through five weeks. Their innovative playbook, eye-popping statistics and their lightning-fast offensive roster are not just setting records, they are reshaping the foundation of offensive football for future generations.
The Dolphins are doing it by building their offensive unit and playbook by adjusting their motion to take advantage of their team speed, catching defenses off guard. The astronomical numbers they are compiling against NFL defenses are enough to make your head spin.
While this remarkable early-season accomplishment deserves exploration, there is no guarantee the Dolphins will punch their ticket to Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas. Yet, head coach Mike McDaniel and his staff are shaking up the league while bringing back excitement to Hard Rock Stadium.
Miami Dolphins break five-week NFL offensive mark
Not since the 1999-2000 St. Louis Rams — whose dominant offense was dubbed “The Greatest Show on Turf” — has an offense exploded to the same degree the Dolphins have this year. Miami set the record for the most offensive yards from scrimmage through the first five games in NFL history during their 31-16 win over the New York Giants (1-4).
The Dolphins have gained 2,568 yards, sailing past the 2000 Rams record of 2,527 in 2000. The Rams, that season, averaged 33.7 points per game and so far the Dolphins are scoring at a 37.5 points per game clip. Of course, Miami did put up 70 points against Denver two weeks ago, breaking another NFL record.
The start of the season has been historic for McDaniel and the offense but it’s a long season. Can they continue to keep defenses on their heels? With the way McDaniel has constantly adapted his offense in Miami, they just might.
Related: 4 Takeaways from Miami Dolphins 31-16 beatdown of New York Giants
Offensive shift changed everything for Mike McDaniel’s team
Watching the 2022 Miami Dolphins, you saw an offense that would send receivers like Tyreek Hill or Jaylen Waddle in motion, swiftly moving across the field before the snap and then accelerating upfield. Once they were in stride, these receivers had a wide range of routes.
With two of the fastest wideouts in the league, Miami’s fast-paced approach presented a significant challenge for opposing defenses, often forcing them to react quickly and make adjustments on the spot. But soon defensive coordinators caught on playing more press defense against the Dolphins containing the strategy.
The difference in 2023, and what so many are calling innovative, is McDaniel’s unique use of pre-snap motion.
Instead of sending receivers across the formation this season, McDaniels has redesigned this motion to catch the defense off guard and give them less time to adjust. This shortened the time for the defense to adjust by using quick and concise movements.
For example, McDaniel will often put Hill in the slot and set him in a spot on the right side of the formation. No longer moving him across the formation, Hill sets out on what looks like a wheel route and then finds himself often open as the defense can’t adjust fast enough.
That might sound like a bunch of technical jargon, but to put it simply McDaniel has combined two well-known and regarded offensive systems of the past that shouldn’t work together — but they are.
Using tenets of the West Coast Offense, including the man-on-man mismatch created in a quick passing scheme, and the vertical attack of the “Air Coryell” system credited to Hall of Fame San Diego Chargers coach Don Coryell, McDaniel is uniquely able to make it work due to the blinding speed on his roster.
Related: Miami Dolphins standing in Sportsnaut’s NFL power rankings
These fish can fly
In the words of the late Hall of Fame owner of the Oakland/Los Angeles/Las Vegas Raiders Al Davis: “Speed kills.” The Dolphins are a team Mr. Davis would have been proud of as they boast breakaway speed at almost every skill position.
According to NFL Next Gen Stats’ Fastest Ball Carrier stats, which “shows the maximum speed, measured in Miles Per Hour (MPH), a player achieves on a given play when carrying the ball on offense (rusher, passer or receiver) or special teams (punt or kick returner),” the Dolphins own seven of the Top 10 fastest plays in the NFL this season. That includes Hill with the fastest at 22.01 MPH on his 64-yard touchdown grab against the Giants on Sunday.
Hill and rookie running back De’Von Achane account for three of those seven, with veteran running back Raheem Mostert making the list, too. This breakneck speed, coupled with McDaniel’s use of that pre-snap motion, is giving defensive coordinators nightmares.
“I told our staff because we’re all old enough to remember, ‘The Greatest Show on Turf.’ This is like that, 2023 supersonic,” Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale said in the week leading up to the game against the Dolphins. “I mean, they are fast. Faster than that. That’s the whole thing that in preparing a team going into this environment, that’s not even turf there. It’s grass and they’re still faster.”
As it turns out, Martindale was wise to be in awe as the Dolphins speed and ability to move the ball. Miami racked up 524 total yards of offense on the Giants.
Dolphins’ running game also turning heads
Not only has this pre-snap motion set the Dolphins up for success in the passing game, but it’s also unleashed a dominant running game behind rookie sensation Achane and veteran speedster Mostert.
Achane is breaking NFL records on his own as part of this innovative McDaniel offense. Sunday against the Giants, Achane carried the ball 11 times for 150 yards and a touchdown. He’s carried the ball 38 times for 460 yards with a whopping 12.1 yards per carry in 2023.
Achane has totaled 353 scrimmage yards and six touchdowns (four rushing, two receiving) over the past two weeks. He is the fourth player with six touchdowns in his first three career games. With his touchdown in the win over New York on Sunday, Achane became the second player in NFL history with seven touchdowns through his first four career games.
The only man to best seven in his first four games was during World War II when the New York Giants’ Bill Paschal rushed for eight during the 1943 season. Only Hall of Famers Eric Dickerson (1983) and LaDanian Tomlinson (2001) have scored six touchdowns in their first six NFL games.
There’s also the veteran Mostert, who carried the ball 10 times for 65 yards and a touchdown. The veteran who came to Miami with his coach from San Francisco last season, already has seven touchdowns and 314 yards, helping the Dolphins with their lethal one-two punch in the backfield. He leads the NFL in touchdowns at his position and his veteran presence is a vital piece of the Dolphins’ early success.
Don’t forget the Miami Dolphins’ trigger man
No quarterback in the league is currently displaying the level of style and self assurance as Tua Tagovailoa.
While he did keep the Giants in the game with two ill-advised interceptions — including a pick-six — Tagovailoa has finally lived up to most of the expectations he had coming out of Alabama. His work in McDaniel’s defense has been the catalyst to make it all work.
Tua is third in the NFL in completion percentage (71.7) and 17 in aggressiveness (12.7%) — aggressiveness tracks the amount of passing attempts a quarterback makes that are into tight coverage, where there is a defender within 1 yard or less of the receiver at the time of completion or incompletion. This is key because usually quarterbacks are more one than the other. But Tua is completing a high percentage of his passes (West Coast influence) and also is going vertical (Air Coryell influence) often.
“I’m very comfortable, regardless of what Mike (McDaniel) has, whether it’s on-script, off-script of plays that we like or plays that are, okay, we’re calling this play,” Tua Tagovailoa said after Sunday’s win. “I didn’t really like this play throughout the week, but play callers sort of – put myself in the play caller’s mind frame – and as I go out there, that’s really how it ends up happening with how I see the field.”
Tagovailoa leads the league with 1,614 yards passing and is tied for second in touchdowns with 11. His five turnovers area also tied for second in the NFL and it’s his one weakness thus far this season. Still, his skills, manuverability and live arm make him perfect for the McDaniel system.
What can stop this juggernaut?
While the innovation found in the Miami offense has caught the NFL off guard, McDaniel will have to continue to evolve as defenses look to adjust.
The Dolphins team speed cannot be adjusted for and will remain an advantage even when teams have a better sense of what McDaniel has dialed up.
The only hope for other Super Bowl contenders is that a defense can hold Miami’s high-flying attack in check while also being able to put up points on offense. The Kansas City Chiefs, Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers are the three teams that, at the very least, seem capable in this regard. But it’s going to be a tough task.