Grading the Dolphins: What Units Performed Best in Week 2?

The Miami Dolphins have opened the season on an 0-2 slide, and with two undefeated teams in the Kansas City Chiefs and Minnesota Vikings on the horizon, it doesn’t seem like things will get much better any time soon.

Miami actually possessed the ball slightly longer than San Francisco, but that didn’t provide much help in preventing how lopsided the Week 2 35-13 loss became.

The Dolphins were outgained 382-284 and averaged just 5.1 yards per play compared to San Francisco’s 7.8. Miami converted seven of 15 third downs, but failed to score a touchdown on either of its two trips to the red zone.

Meanwhile, the 49ers converted five of seven third downs and were a perfect 5-for-5 in the red zone, scoring touchdowns on each trip. Brock Purdy completed 20 of 22 passes for 287 yards as San Francisco scored touchdowns on each of its first five possessions.

Here’s how each position group graded out in Miami’s Week 2 loss:

Quarterback: D

Only three starting quarterbacks have a lower completion percentage than Malik Willis’ 58% mark, and he’s doing so while still ranking among the league’s bottom half in passing yards.

Out of the 12 plays that Willis faced a blitz, he completed just four (33%) of those passes.

Part of that could be the fact that he still doesn’t have an established safety valve.

While rookie Caleb Douglas ran wild in Week 1 and looked like one of the league’s most impressive first-year receivers, San Francisco didn’t have to worry about other vertical threats in Miami’s passing game. The 49ers were able to keep Douglas in check, holding him to two catches for 19 yards before he left with an ankle injury.

His early struggles could also involve Miami’s personnel groupings. The Dolphins utilize 12 personnel (one back, two tight ends) quite a bit, which leaves Willis with fewer receivers downfield and less margin for error on longer-developing concepts.

He has especially struggled to identify the open man on play-actions, where the throwing window can disappear in a split second. That showed up on the first play from scrimmage when Malik Washington came open on a deep crosser, Willis rolled out to the left and missed the brief window before eventually throwing the ball away.

There were still a couple of positives. Miami avoided many of the self-inflicted mistakes that hurt Willis in Week 1, and he appeared more willing to give his receivers chances. Most importantly, those added opportunities never turned into turnovers.

Running Back: C+

Dolphins fans got their wish, even if it resulted in 3.7 yards per carry from De'Von Achane.

After receiving only 11 carries in Week 1, Achane’s work load jumped to 20 against San Francisco and he gained a modest 74 rushing yards with a long of 17. He also caught three passes for 19 yards, giving him 93 yards from scrimmage on 23 touches.

Miami still struggled to consistently create clean running lanes, even though Achane had a few flashes when he was able to reach the second level.

On a halfback misdirection, Achane showed nice patience, mixing in a jump cut as he waited for rookie Kadyn Proctor and Patrick Paul to wash their defenders inside. A strong seal on the edge from Ryan Miller, who later caught a 77-yard touchdown, then helped spring Achane for his only run of 10-plus yards on the day.

Wide Receivers: D+

Douglas’ Week 1 outburst at least felt like some sort of consolation prize after the loss, but that wasn’t the case this week.

While two catches for 19 yards aren’t what you want from your No. 1 receiver, the film showed Douglas wasn’t just being erased in one-on-one coverage.

San Francisco frequently kept softer zone looks over him, and with Miami lacking enough threats, whether personnel-wise or schematically, to consistently stress the other open areas, Douglas never had much room to operate.

Malik Washington was Miami’s most productive receiver, catching four passes for 43 yards, but even he failed to produce a play longer than 23 yards. The lone explosive play came from Ryan Miller, whose only catch went for a 77-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter. Outside of that play, Miami’s receivers combined for just 62 yards.

Tight Ends: D+

Similar to last game, the tight ends remained ineffective in the passing game, with Greg Dulcich catching two passes for 17 yards and Will Kacmarek adding one reception for four yards.

Even with Miami leaning heavily on 12 personnel, the group failed to provide Willis with much of a threat over the middle.

Dulcich served as more of a receiving option while Kacmarek stayed in to block.

Kacmarek earned a solid 74.2 pass-blocking grade and also showed improvement in the run game with a 60.0 run-blocking grade.

Offensive Line: D

The offensive line was a mixed bag, with the run blocking being noticeably better than the pass protection.

Patrick Paul earned a team-high 75.5 overall grade from PFF, including an 82.0 pass-blocking grade and 69.1 mark as a run blocker.

The interior had a much rougher time protecting Willis. Aaron Brewer earned just a 32.5 pass-blocking grade, rookie Kadyn Proctor finished at 39.1 and Jonah Savaiinaea at 46.1.

Austin Jackson wasn’t much better at 50.4 and was also flagged twice.

While Jackson somehow finished with the second-best pass-blocking grade among Miami’s starting linemen, he spent much of the afternoon looking like an overwhelmed mother chasing her kid through a grocery store, either holding on to Nick Bosa for dear life or watching him slip away before tossing Jackson aside.

Their performance on the ground was much more encouraging. Brewer posted a 77.4 run-blocking grade, Proctor finished at 72.4 and Savaiinaea at 68.5.

Defensive line: D+

If there was one improvement from Week 1, it came against the run.

Ashton Jeanty and Mike Washington Jr. combined for 143 rushing yards in Las Vegas, San Francisco finished with just 95 yards on 27 carries, while Christian McCaffrey was held to 23 yards on 10 attempts.

But when Purdy dropped back, Miami generated almost nothing.

The Dolphins finished without a sack for the second consecutive game, and Purdy took advantage by completing 20 of 22 passes for 287 yards and two touchdowns.

Josh Uche was easily the most effective member of the front, earning a 71.1 defensive grade and 77.4 pass-rush grade, with a quarterback hit and two hurries. After that, there wasn’t much. Zach Sieler finished with a 44.1 overall grade and 51.8 pass-rush mark, Zeek Biggers came in at 47.4 overall and Jordan Phillips at 48.8.

While edge rushers are expected to generate most of the pressure, a strong interior push still matters. Miami’s defensive line looks big and strong enough to hold up against the run, but the group may simply be too limited athletically to consistently collapse the pocket and make quarterbacks uncomfortable.

In Chop Robinson’s absence, Malik Herring was solid against the run with a 69.9 run-defense grade, but didn’t offer much as a pass rusher, while Clelin Ferrell also failed to generate a pressure in his expanded opportunity.

Linebackers: C+

Jacob Rodriguez followed up his 14-tackle debut with another solid game against the run, finishing second on the team with eight tackles and earning an 82.0 tackling grade.

Jordyn Brooks also graded reasonably against the run with a 77.1 tackling grade.

Coverage, however, was rough.

Rodriguez finished with a 36.8 coverage grade, while Brooks came in at 52.1 and Willie Gay Jr. at 48.3.

As he’s known to do, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan repeatedly used play-action and motions to toy with Miami’s second level, leaving large windows behind the linebackers.

The clearest example came on George Kittle’s 40-yard catch to open the second half. San Francisco pulled players in one direction and faked the ball to McCaffrey, making Rodriguez shoot toward the line before Kittle slipped behind him.

Kittle made the linebacker’s lives difficult later in the game also, when he faked inside and made Willie Gay IV bite before breaking outside to catch a 12-yard touchdown.

Purdy ultimately went 8-of-9 for 127 yards and a touchdown off play-action, according to NFL Pro data cited in an All-22 review.

Defensive Backs: C+

If you were wondering how the defensive backs did, Brock Purdy’s stat line, 20-of-22 for 287 yards, 13.0 yards per attempt and a 149.1 passer rating, should tell you most of what you need to know.

Michael Taaffe led Miami with nine tackles, but that didn’t make his second outing any less rough. He earned a 34.8 overall grade and 35.7 coverage grade, and George Kittle ran through his tackle attempt on the 40-yard reception that opened the second half.

Dante Trader Jr. remained strong coming downhill, earning an 82.3 tackling grade and 71.5 run-defense grade, but his 30.6 coverage grade reflected many of Miami’s problems on the back end.

Jason Marshall Jr. was often matched against the much larger Mike Evans and had a difficult afternoon, finishing with a 45.3 coverage grade. Rookie Chris Johnson Jr. continued to struggle in coverage with a 46.0 grade and also took a significant step backward as a tackler after an impressive Week 1 showing, earning just a 26.0 tackling grade.

Special teams: F

We don’t really need much nuance here.

Riley Patterson immediately wasted Miami’s opening drive by missing a 51-yard field goal.

Then came the disaster. With Miami already trailing 28-6 in the third quarter, Bradley Pinion simply mishandled a clean punt snap and was brought down at Miami’s 28-yard line. Two plays later, Christian McCaffrey scored to make it 35-6 and officially remove whatever life remained in the game.

The coverage units were better than they were against Las Vegas, but a missed field goal and an unforced punting error that directly handed San Francisco another touchdown are enough to make Mom sign the progress report before it gets turned back in.

Overall: D-

You may need a special-edition microscope to spot the improvements from Week 1, but they were there, at least in the first half, when Miami outgained San Francisco 165-125.

The Dolphins converted 7 of 15 third downs and possessed the ball for more than 30 minutes. Holding an All-Pro running back like Christian McCaffrey to just 23 rushing yards, one week after Miami struggled badly against the run, also qualifies as progress.

Almost everything else outweighed it.

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