Fins find success on the ground despite 15-10 loss to Vikings and more takeaways

The Miami Dolphins consistently stressed that they had confidence in their rushing attack despite star running back De’Von Achane’s season-ending left ACL tear.

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Maybe that’s because they had Ollie Gordon II.

The tailback seemingly turned back the clock as he rushed for 100 yards on nine carries and a touchdown en route to a 15-10 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

“Belief is important, and it’s important for the team to know that I believe in Ollie,” coach Jeff Hafley said, adding that he “stepped up and did a really nice job.”

Despite the end result, Gordon was certainly a bright spot, particularly in the third quarter when he ripped off a 53-yard run that led to a field goal. Two drives later, the former Oklahoma State standout scampered into the end zone for Miami’s only touchdown of the day.

PENALTIES ARE KILLER

Malik Willis and Chris Bell were supposed to have connected for a 68-yard touchdown.

That is, until the referees wiped it off the board because Bell’s toe had stepped out-of-bounds prior to the catch.

“He just got lost where he was on the field,” Hafley said. “He’s a young guy and hopefully, he’ll learn from it. It was a matter of inches that he did step out and that’s the difference in the game.”

These were the type of penalties that plagued the Dolphins, which finished with nine infractions for 55 yards, all day. Left tackle Patrick Paul drew three offensive holding calls, two of which were accepted, himself.

With a team that has a margin of error as small as the Dolphins, these penalties are unacceptable.

QB PRESSURE YIELDS FOUR SACKS

Hafley repeated it throughout the week.

His team was close to getting their first sack of the season.

Oh, how right he was considering the Dolphins sacked quarterback Kyler Murray, who completed 73% of his passes 247 yards while adding another 16 on the ground, a total of four times.

“We had a lot of opportunities to push the offense backwards and that gave us a good chance to go out and get after the quarterback and those guys did,” said linebacker Jacob Rodriguez, who finished with a game-high 18 tackles.

The first came on the Vikings’ opening play of the game courtesy of defensive lineman Zach Sieler. Edge Josh Uche’s sack came next near the beginning of the second quarter. Sieler added another at the end of the second quarter while edge Chop Robinson joined in on the fun in the third quarter.

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Miami’s defense had some timely stops throughout the game, yet the offense was unable to reciprocate.

DOLPHINS FAIL TO FIND RHYTHM IN PASS

Have yourself a day, Brian Flores.

The former Miami Dolphins coach-turned-Vikings defensive coordinator made good use of his blitz package once again to force the Malik Willis-led offense into some bad throws.

“It’s a great scheme,” Willis said. “They did a great job executing their defense.”

That’s part of why the offense struggled, particularly on third down as Miami only converted two of their nine attempts.

Willis also struggled, completing only nine passes for 85 yards. Most of his production came from receiver Malik Washington, who caught five balls for 67 yards. Washington added another three yards on the ground.

“It’s a tough scheme to play against and that’s how we know it was going to be,” Hafley said, later adding that his team just has to be better in “handling some of those pressures and then just cleaning up some of the penalties.”

DOLPHINS STRUGGLE AGAINST TIGHT END

Everyone wondered who would replace Justin Jefferson.

Enter T.J. Hockenson.

The tight end led all pass-catchers in both grabs (13) and yardage (119).

“He’s an elite player,” Rodriguez said. “Very dynamic. Can block well. Can run routes well. Can catch well.” Added Rodriguez: “They found him. They got the ball to him and that’s something we have to do better.”

This wouldn’t be the first time that the Dolphins let a tight end have a good day — think the San Francisco 49ers’ George Kittle and the Kansas City Chiefs’ Travis Kelce — but Hockenson’s success came from a consistent flow of targets, specifically in the second half.

Both Kittle and Kelce gashed the Dolphins with big plays. That certainly wasn’t the case with Hockenson, whose longest play from scrimmage was 22 yards.

This story was originally published October 4, 2026 at 7:13 PM with the headline “Fins find success on the ground despite 15-10 loss to Vikings and more takeaways.”

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