Is This Just the Tip Of the Iceberg For Miami?
Photo Credit: Jim Rassol via USA TODAY Sports
Mike McDaniel and his 2.0 offense with the Miami Dolphins was already the talk of the NFL a week ago — and then his unit put up the single greatest performance in modern league history during their home opener. Seventy points and 726 yards later, the question has become: Can this offense break the NFL’s all-time scoring record? Which is a scary thought considering they haven’t played a single game at full strength yet this season.
Although Pro Bowl left tackle Terron Armstead made his 2023 debut last week against the Denver Broncos, 1B wide receiver Jaylen Waddle was forced to sit due to a concussion he suffered against the New England Patriots in Week 2. While Raheem Mostert and rookie blazer De’Von Achane snatched all the headlines with a combined 375 scrimmage yards and eight touchdowns last week, let’s not forget the Dolphins are still without their highest-paid running back, Jeff Wilson, who still sits on injured reserve.
Even without having the luxury of Armstead, Waddle, and Wilson all playing in the same game, this Dolphins team is already on a historic pace. The best offense in NFL history is currently the 2013 Broncos. After three games, that Broncos offense averaged 42.3 points per game. This year’s Dolphins are currently averaging 43.3.
Back in 2013; Peyton Manning, Knowshon Moreno, Demaryius Thomas, Eric Decker, Julius Thomas, and Wes Welker steamrolled their way to 606 points and 37.9 points per game. Plus they accomplished this feat without their starting All-Pro left tackle, Ryan Clady, after he was lost for the season before Week 3. But aside from Clady, the rest of Denver’s offensive line remained intact, with Thomas missing two games and the then 32-year-old Welker missing three.
This should go without saying, but injury fortune is paramount when chasing history. However, the 2013 Broncos proved that it’s not necessarily a deal breaker, having reached the historical offensive mountaintop without arguably the best left tackle in the game at that time. Considering Armstead has missed a combined 15 games since 2021, it’s only reasonable to anticipate that he’ll rack up a few more inactives along the way. But if the first two weeks were any indication, the Dolphins should be just fine lighting up scoreboards in his absence. As long as Tua Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill, and Waddle can avoid any missed games from here on out, history should remain on the horizon.
When looking back on the 2013 Broncos, they scored 28 points or fewer in just three games, with their lowest-scoring output of 20 points coming in Week 11 against the San Diego Chargers. They also scored 50-plus on three different occasions. The 70-point explosion from last week certainly gives the Dolphins some wiggle room — and maybe as early in Week 4 when they travel to Buffalo — in order to catch the 2013 Broncos. And to do so, the Dolphins will have to average 36.7 over their remaining 14 games.
Is it too early to put McDaniel’s offense into the same conversation as the highest-scoring unit of all time? Probably. But after what we’ve seen thus far, with McDaniel reminding the football world last week that he still knows a thing or two about how to gash opposing defenses with the patented Shanahan zone run game, the sky is truly the limit.
When you’re able to consistently get 4.3 speed in space, you have an ability to score any and every time, regardless of where you’re at on the field. And this Dolphins offense is — without a sliver of doubt — the fastest offense in the game today. In fact, according to NFL’s Next Gen Stats, the six fastest ball carriers in the NFL through three weeks have all been recorded by Dolphins.
- Hill: 22.07 MPH in Week 3
- Achane: 21.93 MPH in Week 3
- Hill: 21.66 MPH in Week 1
- Mostert: 21.62 MPH in Week 2
- Hill: 21.52 MPH in Week 1
- Achane: 21.50 MPH in Week 3
Notice how Waddle and his 4.3 speed hasn’t even cracked the list yet? It’s only a matter of time until the former Alabama wide receiver joins the electrifying party currently taking place in South Beach. It shouldn’t come as a surprise if McDaniel is able to generate at least one field-altering explosive play for Waddle during Sunday’s AFC East heavyweight fight between the Bills.
The Dolphins have their eyes set on history and the 2013 Broncos. Even if they score fewer than 28 on Sunday against Sean McDermott‘s Bills defense, the firepower that exists within McDaniel’s scheme is susceptible to 40- and 50-point explosions on any given week. The 2013 Broncos scored 40-plus in six different weeks. Can the Dolphins put up five more 40-plus burgers? They’ll likely need to if they’re going to dethrone the 2013 Broncos.
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