Examining Dolphins historic start and whether offense can maintain exp
Through three games this season, the 2023 have made scoring points in the parity-filled appear to be significantly easier than it actually is.They've scored a touchdown on 47.2% of their offensive drives. In historical context, that 47.2% is ultra relevant. Not only is it up 10 percentage points from Miami's figure a year ago, which led the league through three weeks in 2022, it's a higher rate than the first three games from the 2018 when erupted onto the scene throwing 50 touchdowns en route to winning league MVP.I'm not done. Miami's three-game scoring start outperforms any offense led by , Drew Brees or . Yes, it even eclipses the 46.4% touchdown rate through three games from the 2007 , which fielded the gold standard of offensive efficiency in the modern era.This is not the Wildcat, zone-read, or RPO suddenly appearing on Sundays with defenses unable to recognize it or how it is to be properly combatted. We caught glimpses of the capabilities https://www.buynetsedge.com/brooklyn-ne … ing-jersey of Mike McDaniel's and Tyreek Hill-driven attack a season ago. After all, Tagovailoa did lead the league in pa ser rating (105.5) and tied Mahomes in touchdown rate (if we're rounding up, both were at 6.3%) in 2022. It's almost as if Tagovailoa's rash of injuries and inability to finish the season became a shining example of the overshadowing powers of recency bias. Last year, the Dolphins registered 72 plays of 20-plus yards. They already have 19 such plays -- including seven against the -- through three contests in 2023.As not exactly the foremost advocate of pace statistics three games into an NFL season, I'll frame this one as such -- even if the Dolphins regre s to their 2022 average (4.2 per game down from where it currently is at 6.33 per game), they'll finish the regular season with 78 of those explosive plays, only five short of what the Chiefs accomplished last year. I could go on and on and on dumping numbers on the Dolphins' start here. But naturally, we're all wondering -- can the Dolphins sustain this torrid start all season long? After all, that 2007 Patriots team completed the regular season scoring a touchdown on 40.1% of its drives. Absurd. From a pure talent (and speed) perspective, it feels like it's po sible, doesn't it? Hill has the most 40-plus yard catches (42 https://www.buynetsedge.com/brooklyn-ne … son-jersey ) since entering the league in 2016. We've only seen 11 grabs for 164 yards on the season from , and he didn't even play against the Broncos in the 70-burger. There's , a blur of a back when healthy. His backfield mate De'Von Achane, who went for over 200 yards on Sunday, has 4.31 juice. This is the type of talent collection Tagovailoa steered at Alabama.When evaluating Miami's chances to sustain from a competition angle, it gets more dicey. Just like we all understand clinging to pace stats early in a season https://www.buynetsedge.com/brooklyn-ne … ams-jersey is silly, we know that, while fun, the transitive property -- Team A beat Team B and Team B beat Team C, so Team A is better than Team C -- isn't a foolproof way to compare . Having written that, we cannot glo s over the fact the Dolphins cruised to 10 touchdowns at home against a Broncos defense that just a week prior surrendered 35 points in Denver to a offense that was e sentially nonexistent and overrun with mistakes in a 37-3 lo s to the in Week 3.And what do you know?! Miami's Week 4 game is in Buffalo. (Tony Romo voice) Here we go, Jim!Miami has just three contests remaining on the schedule against teams that entered Week 3 in the bottom half of , the all-encompa sing efficiency metric -- (vs. , vs. Chiefs, vs. ). The , the Dolphins' Week 14 opponent, were 16th, and the Chiefs, who play Miami Week 9 in Germany, were 19th. We can safely a sume Kansas City will enter the top half of the league defensively while Tenne see should sink into the bottom half after what transpired respectively for those clubs in Week 3.And whether or not Miami can sustain the offensive explosivene s we've seen through https://www.buynetsedge.com/brooklyn-ne … ton-jersey three games when facing a jam-packed slate of stingy defenses will probably specifically hinge on the opposition's pa s rush.Tagovailoa's pa ser rating when kept clean entering Week 4 is an awe-inspiring 137.7. Parsing that out -- 62 of 81 for 857 yards with eight touchdowns and one pick. When pre sured, Tagovailoa's rating drops 80 points (!) to 57.7. In those pre sured scenarios, he's 10 of 20 for 167 yards with no touchdowns and an interception. On that note, respect must be paid to how well the Dolphins offensive line has protected Tagovailoa. He's been under dure s on a minuscule 21.1% of his dropbacks and has been sacked just once.Eight of the Dolphins' remaining 14 regular-season games (57%) come against https://www.buynetsedge.com/brooklyn-ne … ant-jersey pa s-rush units currently in the top half of the league in pre sure rate (Bills and twice, the Patriots once, the Commanders, and ). So it's not as if Tagovailoa and Miami's offensive line are set to face a ridiculously high percentage of quality pa s-rushing groups. But it's not as though it'll be a cakewalk in the trenches from here on out, either.One last thing -- the offensive succe s hasn't solely been reliant on Tagovailoa's left arm. The Dolphins are currently second in the NFL in Expected Points Added on rushing attempts (+0.057). They finished 13th in that efficiency metric in 2022. And Achane's presence po sibly presents an entirely new, dynamic element to the ground game beyond Mostert and the rest of the backfield depth. Can the Dolphins continue what they've started in their blistering 3-0 start to the season? Well, part of what's so awesome about the NFL, we typically don't have to wait long to get answers to those type of questions, and we'll be treated to Dolphins at Bills Sunday in Week 4.