Miami maintains visions of crashing the postseason but head coach Mike McDaniel underscored the fine line it will take for the Dolphins to get back to the playoffs.
“When your line of scrimmage is violated to the point you have some turnover football, that you have some hits on the quarterback and you’re not able to stay on the field as long as you want, you have to figure out a way to reestablish the line of scrimmage and that problem is not going anywhere until we solve it,” McDaniel said as the Dolphins (6-8) ready for the San Francisco 49ers (6-8) to hit South Florida on Sunday.
Former colleague Kyle Shanahan not only knows McDaniel — offensive coordinator in San Francisco before he took the Miami job — but they are speaking the same language these days.
Shanahan is feeling much the same pain in San Francisco. The defending NFC champions share more than a 2024 record with the Dolphins. The 49ers are operating without their top blocker, All-Pro left tackle Trent Williams, and lost four of the past five games to reduce their playoff odds to essentially zero.
The point? Points are the problem.
The 49ers finished third in the NFL in scoring last season (28.9 per game), a fraction behind the No. 2 scoring team in the league: Miami (29.2). They were No. 1 (San Francisco) and 2 in the red zone and were both over 42 percent on third-down conversions.
This season, the Dolphins average 19.7 points per game, which ranks 24th, and are No. 26 in the NFL at 101.4 rushing yards per game.
The 49ers allowed 18 QB pressures and didn’t score a touchdown last week in a crushing loss to the Los Angeles Rams, rushed for only 63 yards and are scoring on just over 61 percent of goal-to-go situations (27th).
It prompted Shanahan to say he would take a few days away, “come back and play better football and challenge the character of our team.”
Introspective analysis is McDaniel’s forte, but Miami is running out of time to rediscover the formula that made the Dolphins one of the NFL’s feared offenses — and a wild-card team — last season. In last week’s loss to the Houston Texans, who feature a tandem of edge rushers with 10-plus sacks, McDaniel felt it was virtually impossible for the offense to find a groove because the front five folded too easily.
Miami is tied for the second-fewest yards per carry this season with 3.9 and won’t likely know until gameday whether game-wrecking defensive end Nick Bosa will suit up for San Francisco. He missed three games with an oblique injury, then missed Wednesday’s practice.
“With Nick, we felt good with his oblique (last week),” Shanahan said. “But he ended up hurting the other one. It was a completely different injury. We always worry about that stuff and there’s a very fine line.”
San Francisco beat Miami 33-17 in 2022 in the first significant action for then-rookie quarterback Brock Purdy. San Francisco limited the Dolphins to 33 rushing yards and sacked Tua Tagovailoa three times.
The 49ers will have one key ingredient in their run-stopping plan. Linebacker Dre Greenlaw played 30 snaps, mostly in the first half, against the Rams after a 10-month rehab from a ruptured Achilles.
“I love having him out there,” Bosa said. “He’s probably my favorite teammate to ever play with, college or pros. He’s an absolute dog. He was showing it. To come after a year of not playing and look like that is pretty impressive.”
Tagovailoa isn’t certain his full complement of weapons will be ready, either. After leading the league in passing yards (4,624) last season, Tagovailoa admitted he’s not on the same page with wide receiver Tyreek Hill. They were out of sync against the Texans last week and Tagovailoa threw three interceptions. Hill is dealing with multiple injuries, and Tagovailoa understands Shanahan knows what McDaniel and the Dolphins are trying to do with the ball.
“They know how to counteract the offenses that have found success against them,” Tagovailoa said. “So I think it’s going to be a tough challenge for us going against those guys with Fred (Warner) leading the charge. My opinion, probably one of the best linebackers that I’ve gotten to play against.”
–Field Level Media
