The Miami Dolphins had an eventful first Sunday of their new regular season, which started with star wide receiver Tyreek Hill being detained in handcuffs prior to kickoff and ended with them getting past the Jacksonville Jaguars for a 20-17 win.
Hill led the way with 130 yards and a touchdown on seven catches, and it was indeed the Miami passing game that spearheaded the win, especially since their ground game only yielded 81 yards on 25 rushing attempts.
Their two main running backs — Raheem Mostert and De’Von Achane — are banged up, and on Tuesday, both missed practice, per Marcel Louis-Jacques.
Mostert and Achane combined for just 33 rushing yards on 16 rushing attempts versus the Jaguars, which was very much unlike them.
Last season, Mostert ran for 1,012 yards and an NFL-high 18 touchdowns, while Achane notched 800 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns despite being limited to 11 games because of a knee injury.
Thanks to them, the Dolphins were sixth in rushing yards and first in both rushing touchdowns and yards per rush attempt in 2023.
Even though they went 11-6, many accused them of being a fraudulent team, and indeed, they had lots of trouble defeating teams with winning records all season.
They will be tasked with taking the next step this season, which means winning their first playoff game since the 2000 season.
Miami will have a game against the Buffalo Bills this Thursday on a short turnaround, and it is a rare case of a Week 2 contest that could have playoff implications since it could have some bearing on who finishes first in the AFC East.
