Why the Miami Dolphins Will Get Closer to De'Von Achane's Magic Number in Week 2

For most of the off-season, the general expectation for the Miami Dolphins' offense was simple: feed De'Von Achane the ball and center most of the offense around him.

So, seeing one of the top running backs in football record 36 yards off 11 carries seems to go against that philosophy. Offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik agreed when he spoke to the media Thursday, citing a need to improve Miami's ground game for their matchup against San Francisco.

There were a few factors in play as to why Achane struggled as he did, with some not really being his fault. However, he signed a four-year, $68 million contract extension back in May for a reason.

Hopefully Only Week 1 Problems

It's a bad sign for the run game when Achane is beaten out by Malik Willis for the most rushing yards - 39 compared to 36. Miami's offense produced 27 passes compared to just 18 total carries from the likes of Willis, Achane, and Jaylen Wright - the latter only managed one carry that lost a yard, while Ollie Gordon II didn't get a single offensive carry.

A big factor in Miami's struggles running the ball was a lackluster effort from the offensive line. Between that and the pass rush Las Vegas was sending, they gave Willis and Achane little time to develop plays before Raiders defenders pressured them at the line of scrimmage.

While the Raiders' offensive line was able to create gaps up the middle for Ashton Jeanty, Miami's offensive line had no such success. Most of Achane's best runs came from attacking the left side of the field, but linebackers were still able to bring him down and avoid serious damage.

Interestingly, Achane only ran to the right side of the field once, losing 1 yard on third-and-1 early in the second quarter, and didn't do it again for the rest of the game.

Even with limited offensive line support, Achane has still been known to create explosive plays with his agility and stature. However, he wasn't able to do that against Las Vegas, with his longest run being 10 yards. For every decent run Achane recorded, he would follow it up with a mediocre two- or three-yard carry, or be met at the line thanks to a 22% stuffed run rate.

A Far Cry From Early Expectations

The run game took a backseat to the passing game, especially in the second half when the Dolphins couldn't rely on it due to being in a deficit with the clock ticking. Miami did occasionally throw to Achane, who recorded 30 yards on four receptions, but even this felt like underutilizing him.

Last season, 24 percent of routes run by Achane resulted in a target. In other words, almost a quarter of the time he spent on the field, the ball went his way in 2025. Against the Raiders, that dropped to 18.5% in a game in which he took 48 offensive snaps.

Back in August, during an interview on The Rich Eisen Show, Jeff Hafley promised that Achane would be getting a heavy workload and joked that could result in more than 40 touches per game.

Maybe there was a disconnection between what Hafley said and what Slowik originally wanted out of Achane against Las Vegas, but he now admits that it's not a good amount of snaps for the promised workhorse of the offense.

"We want the offense to roll through the o-line into 28," Slowik said. "Obviously, it's harder to do when you're down multiple scores. As I reflect on my own play calling, like could I still have mixed in some runs here and there to give them the ball and just let them get some ops as we roll? Which is always like a yes and no. There's some games where it works and you can do it. There's other games where there's 11 minutes left in the game and two scores and as soon as you run the ball, you've just lost three minutes and now all of a sudden you're down on the clock.

"So me personally, I've definitely looked at that, but we don't want to leave a game with Achane only having 14 touches. We definitely want more than that, without a doubt."

Since the start of the 2025 season, the Dolphins are 6-0 when Achane gets at least 18 rushing attempts, so maybe that's the magic number. As Slowik pointed out, though, game circumstances and the score sometimes dictate the usage, but clearly more Achane is good for the Dolphins.

Can It Bet Better In The Bay Area?

It might seem scary to take on a San Francisco team that dismantled the Super Bowl favorite Los Angeles Rams. But this matchup has the potential to get Miami's running game going on the right track.

Los Angeles put up a solid performance through the ground against the 49ers' defense, with 122 rushing yards off 29 carries. Blake Corum did the most damage with 54 yards, while Kyren Williams wasn't far behind with 41 yards and the team's lone touchdown of the game.

The offensive line for the Rams was physical enough to push back the defensive line for San Francisco into their linebackers, leaving room for Corum and Williams to run right past them. Defensive tackles C.J. West and Alfred Collins especially had trouble in their matchups in the trenches and should be weak points for the Dolphins to try to expose in the run game.

The Rams hammered runs between the linemen and found success, especially in the first half. That should be what Miami attempts to replicate. That said, it'll take Miami's offensive line to get Achane the space he needs in the trenches to really fly and carry the offense as he was expected to.

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