Sunday is shaping up as a serious test for the Miami Dolphins, and not just because the San Francisco 49ers are coming in with one of the league’s most decorated rosters. San Francisco has 12 players who have been to the Pro Bowl at least once, and those players account for 54 total Pro Bowl nominations.
By comparison, Miami’s roster is built around youth and inexperience. Of the Dolphins’ 53 players, De’Von Achane is the only one to have made the Pro Bowl without being named an alternate.
That gap in experience is part of why the Dolphins cannot afford a sloppy afternoon. The 49ers will challenge Miami in all three phases, and if the Dolphins want any real shot at pulling the upset in their home stadium, the mistakes from last week have to disappear fast.
The biggest defensive issue starts up front: Brock Purdy cannot be allowed to settle in. Miami failed to create steady pressure on Kirk Cousins, and that kind of passive rush will be a problem against a 49ers passing game that is much more dangerous than the Raiders’ receivers.
Purdy does a good job handling pressure, but constant heat still forces mistakes. The Dolphins will have to find answers without Chop Robinson, leaning on Robert Beal Jr., Malik Herring and Josh Uche, while Clelin Ferrell will likely be activated again to the 53.
Pressure also can’t come only off the edge. Sean Duggan and Jeff Hafley need to disguise blitzes with the safeties, but the defensive line has to do the heavy lifting by pushing the 49ers’ front backward.
Last week, Miami was the group getting driven into the ground by the Raiders’ offensive line.
The other issue that can wreck a drive before it even starts is pre-snap penalties. Miami’s offensive line had problems with that last week, and Aaron Brewer’s two early holds stood out.
Dead-ball mistakes are poison against a team like San Francisco, especially when the Dolphins are trying to stay on schedule. If a series gets to third-and-short and then gets shoved back five or 10 yards, the offense is basically handing away its chance to build momentum.
De’Von Achane also has to be more involved. The Dolphins can’t keep him on the sideline and expect the 49ers to make life easy.
Bobby Slowik said Friday that part of the Week 1 problem was Miami being down by two scores, and he acknowledged that things got away from them in the fourth quarter. Even so, Achane remains dangerous as a receiver, and if San Francisco starts choking off the run, the Dolphins need to find other ways to get him the ball.
More than 15 touches feels like the baseline for keeping Miami’s offense alive.
The line in front of the quarterback has to clean things up too. Patrick Paul and Kadyn Proctor were solid in Week 1, but Jonah Savaiinaea struggled again and Austin Jackson was a liability on the outside.
Now the Dolphins face a 49ers front that is stronger in the trenches than the Raiders. The standard here is simple: fire off the ball, hold leverage and create room for the run game while keeping Malik Willis upright.
The interior work matters just as much, because the 49ers’ linebacker group, led by Dre Greenlaw and Fred Warner, can punish any hesitation.
That leads to the final issue, and it may be the most frustrating one for Miami: Malik Willis has to get the ball out. He said this week that he needs to be better after taking five sacks in Week 1.
Not every sack was on him, but there is no excuse for taking one outside the pocket. He was asked about having a “sense” of pressure or a “countdown clock” in his head, and he said there is nothing like that.
Maybe there should be. The answer isn’t forcing throws into coverage.
It’s knowing when to throw it away, live for the next snap and avoid the kind of negative plays that turn an offense into a long-yardage mess.
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