MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- Mike McDaniel has never seen this level of physicality from the Miami Dolphins offense.
His words.
Speaking after his team won its third straight game to climb back to 5-7 on the season, the fourth-year Dolphins head coach praised his offensive line for setting the tone over the past five games -- of which, the Dolphins have won four.
While running back De'Von Achane has been the face of the revival of Miami's ground game, McDaniel insisted the production started up front.
"A gigantic part of it is the tonality with which our offensive line is playing; they're really attacking people," McDaniel said. "For the past month, I've seen the most physical football that I've seen since I've been here."
Since Week 8, the Dolphins are averaging 151.6 rushing yards per game -- third-most in the NFL over that span. Achane's 112.3 rushing yards per game over the past five games ranks third-most in the league, and to the credit of Miami's offensive line, he's also averaging the fifth-most yards before first contact per rush.
The third-year back eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards in a single season for the first time in his career Sunday after running for 134 yards and a touchdown against the New Orleans Saints in the 21-17 Week 13 win. Achane said the milestone "means a lot" and is something he's chased earnestly since falling short as a rookie in 2023 (800 yards in 11 games) and last season (907 yards).
"My rookie year, I had the best chance, but I missed five games and went for 800 yards," he said. "That's kind of still with me. Like last year, I kind of fell short. So I feel like this year, it was something I really wanted to accomplish."
Despite McDaniel's reputation as a run-game guru, Miami's run game has been inconsistent over the past four seasons -- in part due to an explosive passing game led by wide receivers Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill.
McDaniel said establishing the run has always been the Dolphins' goal, it was just a matter of execution. But while their ground game has taken off, their passing game has faltered.
Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa threw for just 157 yards in Sunday's win over the Saints, marking his seventh game this season in which he's thrown for fewer than 200 yards. It's surprising, considering he did so seven times in his first three seasons under McDaniel, combined.
McDaniel admitted Miami's pass game was "herky jerky" Sunday and that it wasn't Tagovailoa's best game. Tagovailoa, who threw his league-leading 14th interception against New Orleans, said he needed to play better but didn't mind the statistical drop-off as long as the team continued to win games.
McDaniel said the Dolphins passing offense, which ranks 27th in the league with 183.1 yards per game, will have to get going as opposing defenses adjust to stop the run.
"At some point we're going to have to execute in the near future," he said. "In the NFL, if you have success in a phase or success in running the ball, people will overcommit and you'll eventually need to pass to win. I think that will be a big thing that we'll be working on this coming week."
The Dolphins will look to extend their win streak in Week 14 against a New York Jets defense that's struggled against the run but ranks 10th in passing yards allowed per game.
Achane said that although the identity of the Dolphins' offense has changed, he's confident in their ability to adjust should opponents sell out against the run.
"I feel like we want to be physical," he said. "We come down, we come to the line and everyone knows we are going to run the ball and I feel like we've been running the ball great these past 3-4 weeks. As long as we keep that, that's when they start stacking the box, and that's when (Waddle) makes big plays."