The Miami Dolphins thrived off motion, but it also led to their downfall.
The Miami Dolphins led the league in points per game for most of the season, but everything changed once the calendar turned to December. Only the Carolina Panthers averaged fewer than Miami’s 13.3 points over the season’s final three games.
That said, Miami found plenty of success running Mike McDaniel’s offense. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa led the league in passing yards, while Tyreek Hill set a career-high with 1,799 receiving yards to pair with 13 touchdowns.
Before or after the snap, McDaniel’s offense thrived by attacking open space across the field. Miami’s offense leveraged motion on 68 percent of snaps — by far the league’s highest rate, per Seth Walder, a sports analytics writer for ESPN.
Final motion report for the 2023 season!
In 2017 NFL teams put a man in motion at the snap 4% of the time, on average. In 2023 the average was 22%!
Data via @ESPNStatsInfo video tracking team. pic.twitter.com/Ar67rJ9yWE
— Seth Walder (@SethWalder) January 16, 2024
The Los Angeles Rams used motion on 44 percent of snaps, followed by the San Francisco 49ers (38 percent) and Green Bay Packers (36 percent) — four teams running similar offenses.
Miami finished the year averaging 27.9 points per game — good for fourth in the NFL — but also ended the year on a three-game losing streak. The Dolphins will continue utilizing motion due to the speed of Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, but offseason changes are needed if this offense hopes to sustain late-season success.