Nuggets on Dolphins offense vs. 49ers: snap counts, grades, a big disappointment

The Dolphins have used considerable draft capital to fix an offensive line that has been an issue for nearly a decade.

Read more What data says on Dolphins’ NFL-worst pass rush, pass coverage. News by position

But that line — featuring two first-rounders, two second-rounders and a Pro Bowl center – has been a disappointment through two games, signaling that even more draft picks might need to be used to fix it.

In the 27-13 Week 1 loss at Las Vegas, run blocking was the issue, with De’Von Achane limited to 3.3 yards per carry.

In Sunday’s 35-13 loss at San Francisco, Miami’s line couldn’t hold up against a vaunted 49ers pass rush, which produced 12 quarterback pressures and four sacks.

So who was to blame? According to Pro Football Focus, everyone except left tackle Patrick Paul.

Right tackle Austin Jackson, who has played poorly the first two weeks, permitted at least three pressures, per PFF. Jackson couldn’t handle 49ers All-Pro edge player Nick Bosa, who had five pressures, and Miami seemingly didn’t give Jackson enough help.

PFF also gave poor pass-blocking grades to guards Kadyn Proctor (who allowed a sack) and Jonah Savaiinaea and center Aaron Brewer.

The Dolphins enter the week leading the league in sacks allowed, with nine. Quarterback Malik Willis probably can be blamed for at least three of those sacks because he has held onto the ball too long at times.

But the pass blocking simply must improve. Grading off two weeks of games, PFF rates Jackson the second-worst pass-blocking lineman in the league, ahead of only former Dolphins lineman Larry Borom, who now plays for the Lions. Savaiinaea is rated ninth worst as a pass blocker among 68 qualifying guards.

On Sunday, the 49ers “ran a lot of twist games and they had a lot of success on it,” Brewer said. “It’s [a matter of] watching the film and making the proper adjustments.”

This needs to get fixed quickly, because the next two opponents — Kansas City and Minnesota — torment teams with well-timed blitzes.

At least the run blocking was somewhat improved, though Achane’s 3.7 average (20 carries, 74 yards) was well below his career 5.5 mark. For the day, Miami averaged just 3.5 yards per carry.

PFF rated Brewer and Proctor as the Dolphins’ best run-blocking linemen on Sunday; Jackson was rated the worst.

It has been widely expected that the Dolphins will move on from Jackson after this season and move Proctor to right tackle in 2027. Jackson likely would have needed an exceptional season to give the team a reason to delay that move by a year; so far, he’s making this an easy decision for the front office.

“I’ve got to play better,” Jackson, who committed two penalties against the 49ers, said afterward.

Incidentally, Caedan Wallace entered the game as a sixth offensive lineman on three of Miami’s 59 offensive plays.

A look at other positions on offense in the aftermath of Sunday’s game:

Quarterback

Malik Willis’ late 77-yard TD pass to Ryan Miller left him with a 103 rating for the day, vaulting him from 30th in the league in passer rating to 26th among 34 quarterbacks, at 83.5.

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On Sunday, he had a 121.1 passer rating when kept clean (11 for 16 for 157 yards and one touchdown), but a 61.6 rating when under pressure (3 for 7 for 40 yards).

After handling the blitz effectively against the Raiders, Willis closed just two of eight for 20 yards against the 49ers’ blitzes.

Willis’ touch on 20-plus yard throws remains a strength. He was two for two on passes thrown at least 20 air yards against the 49ers – the deep TD to Miller and a 23-yarder to Malik Washington — after going seven for seven on such throws for Green Bay last season and one for four in the opener.

But the intermediate passing game was nonexistent; Willis didn’t complete either of his passes that traveled between 10 and 19 yards after completing 6 of 11 such throws in the opener.

Running back

After leading the league in per-carry average at 5.7 last season, Achane ranks just 37th, at 3.5, after two weeks.

But at least offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik got Achane more involved after underutilizing him against the Raiders. On Sunday, Achane had 23 of the 41 touches by Dolphins running backs, receivers and tight ends. He ran 20 times and caught three passes on six targets.

Achane played 45 of Miami’s 59 offensive snaps on Sunday.

Jaylen Wright had two carries for 11 yards (on three snaps) before leaving for good with a stinger in the second quarter.

Ollie Gordon II played 11 snaps and ran for just 7 yards on three carries, dropping his career average to 2.8.

Fullback DJ Herman played 17 snaps and caught an 18-yard pass from Willis, but PFF rated him Miami’s worst player on offense.

Wide receiver

The Dolphins gave 51 offensive snaps to Caleb Douglas, 43 to Washington, 27 to Kevin Coleman Jr., 24 to Chris Bell and 7 to Miller, whose 77-yard TD reception was the Dolphins’ longest since Tyreek Hill caught an 80-yard pass from Tua Tagovailoa against Jacksonville in September 2024.

Douglas, who had five catches for 94 yards in the opener, was targeted just three times, catching two for 19 yards and dropping the third. He left for good with an ankle injury in the fourth quarter; coach Jeff Hafley had no update after the game.

Bell’s snap count dropped slightly from the opener (29 to 24) and he didn’t catch his only target. Coleman’s snaps jumped from 15 to 27, but he wasn’t targeted in the passing game.

PFF rated Miller and Washington as Miami’s first- and third-best players on offense Sunday, with Paul sandwiched between them. Douglas was 12th, Coleman 15th and Bell 17th, ahead of only Herman.

Tight end

Rookie tight end Will Kacmarek’s snaps jumped from 14 in the opener to 28 against the 49ers, and Greg Dulcich’s dropped from 43 to 36. PFF rated them 11th and 13th, respectively, among Miami’s 18 players on offense.

Dulcich caught two of his three targets for 17 yards, while Kacmarek caught his only target for 4 yards.

Run blocking is considered Kacmarek’s greatest strength. And through two games, his run-blocking grade (on 22 running play snaps) ranks 38th among 73 tight ends, per PFF. Dulcich is ranked 67th.

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This story was originally published September 21, 2026 at 11:01 AM.