The stats don’t lie
Disappointing season filled with plenty of dismal numbers that indicate Miami isn’t very good
Dolphins’ numbers show they are worse than their record.
Crunch the numbers and you’ll see that the Miami Dolphins might actually be worse than the team’s 4-6 record indicates.
An accounting log of a mediocre NFL team reads like this:
Minus-2 — That’s where the Dolphins stand in turnover differential after generating 11 takeaways, but committing 13 in the season’s first 10 games. And two of those turnovers were interceptions returned for touchdowns by Miami’s opponents. The Dolphins are one of 15 teams in the red when it comes to turnovers.
0— The amount of AFC East wins the Dolphins have this season, and all of Miami’s four division losses have been by at least 13 points.
1.8 — The amount of receptions per game Kenny Stills, who the Dolphins traded a third-round pick to acquire this past offseason, gets per game despite his teamleading 18.4 yards per catch average.
6.26 — Ryan Tannehill’s yards per attempt average on his third-down throws. Only six quarterbacks are throwing for fewer yards per attempt on third downs. Tannehill is ranked as the 19th best quarterback in the league based on his 82.2 passer rating on that critical down. He’s completing 58.2 percent of his passes on third downs.
6.29 — The average yards the Dolphins’ defense gives up on first down. Only three defenses — the San Diego Chargers, New Orleans Saints and New York Giants — are worse on first downs this season. What’s
The Dolphins have been allowing 138.6 rushing yards per game. Only Cleveland is allowing more.
even more disturbing is that Miami’s opponents have had more first downs than every team in the league except for the Giants.
8— The games where Miami’s offense has scored fewer than 21 points this season.
9— The amount of tailbacks who have carried the ball 50 or more times this season that have a larger yards per carry average than Lamar Miller (5.0 per attempt). Coincidentally, 21 tailbacks have more carries than Miller, who has 565 rushing yards and scored five touchdowns on 114 attempts this season.
18.4 — The amount of points the Dolphins’ offense is averaging this season without the defense and special teams touchdowns. The league average for points scored this season is 22.9. The Dolphins’ offense is ranked 26th in points scored per game.
20.9 — The amount of rushing attempts for the Dolphins per game, which is stunning considering the fact Miami has the league’s fourth highest yards per carry average (4.8) this season. Only the Detroit Lions run the ball less than Miami.
27.8 — The percentage of third downs the Dolphins’ offense converts, which has Miami ranked 31st in the NFL. Only the St. Louis Rams are worse at converting third downs (24.2). There isn’t a team worse at converting fourth downs than the Dolphins, who have had success on 2-of-13 fourth-down opportunities (15.4 percent).
30 — The amount of sacks the Dolphins’ offense has allowed this season, which is higher than the league’s average of 22.9 sacks allowed. The Dolphins are ranked 25th when it comes to sacks allowed per passing play (a takedown once every 12 attempts).
35 — The amount of points the Dolphins have been outscored by in the first quarter. Dolphins’ opponents have put up 72 points in the first quarter and Miami has scored 37 points through 10 games. No team has allowed more points in the game’s opening quarter.
54.8 — The percentage of Miami’s 31 red zone opportunities that turn into touchdowns, which puts the Dolphins right in the middle of the pack (16th) when it comes to scoring touchdowns inside the 20.
80.1 — Tannehill’s passer rating in the fourth quarter. He’s ranked as the NFL’s 26th best quarterback in that critical quarter. Tannehill has thrown more fourth quarter passes (116) than all but three quarterbacks this season.
95.2 — The cumulative passer rating Miami’s opponents have this season. The Saints (116.6), Lions (103.3), Chargers (103.0), San Francisco 49ers (102.8), Cleveland Browns (100.7), Washington Redskins (100.1), Baltimore Ravens (99.5), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (98.2), Jacksonville Jaguars (98.0) and Chicago Bears (97.6) have allowed opposing quarterbacks to perform better. The Dolphins are ranked 27th in passing net yards per play.
138.6 — The amount of rushing yards the Dolphins’ expensive defensive line is allowing per game, which breaks down to 4.3 yards per carry. Only the Browns are allowing more rushing yards per game. No team in the NFL has had the ball run on them more times (326) than the Dolphins, which means Miami’s opponents believe the Dolphins are soft against the run.