There were plenty of reasons for Jeff Hafley to come away encouraged from Miami’s preseason opener, but the biggest one was hard to miss: the Dolphins looked physical.
That was the standard Hafley kept circling back to after Saturday’s game, and he made it clear he saw it from both sides of the ball. The run defense set the tone early, the offensive line kept answering as the game wore on, and a pair of tight ends helped turn that edge into something tangible.
Hafley didn’t hide how much he liked what he saw up front, especially from the starting defense. Miami’s first unit made Washington earn everything on the ground, limiting the early run game and forcing long third downs.
On the opening defensive series, the Commanders managed just 4 yards on three rushing attempts before punting. Washington’s next drive brought the first real crack, a 7-yard run by Kaytron Allen, but Allen was stopped at the line on his next carry by Josh Uche, and Marco Wilson picked off Sam Hartman two plays later.
“The one thing I am so proud of is that, even starting in the practice, our run defense, it was physical,” Hafley said. “I thought that our ones versus their ones, they had a tough time running the ball, and our run defense showed up.
The interior guys, they were squeezing. We were setting edges.
Chop was violent.”
Chop Robinson was a big part of that early tone. When he was on the field, his footwork stood out, and there was one snap where he crossed over Commanders lineman Trent Scott like a point guard, getting pressure on Marcus Mariota. At 254 pounds, he was also tough to knock backward.
Once the reserves entered, Washington found more room. Allen finished with 85 yards on 23 carries, and the Commanders scored both of their rushing touchdowns through Allen and Robert Henry Jr., who was especially productive against the backups with 75 yards.
Miami’s offense had its own physical standouts, and Hafley singled out two offensive linemen in particular: Kadyn Proctor and Jonah Savaiinaea. Even after other starters came out, those two stayed in the game and kept delivering.
“I've got to give it up for Jonah,” Hafley said. “He was physical, and I showed some clips in front of the entire team this morning of him just coming off the ball and driving people back, knocking guys on the ground. And same thing for Proctor; on a couple of the gap scheme plays, the whole side of the line was caved down.”
Savaiinaea looked comfortable back at right guard and played a major role in Miami’s run game, helping open multiple lanes for De’Von Achane alongside Aaron Brewer. The line also gave Willis enough time in the pocket on several snaps, and he needed it while waiting for receivers to separate.
Proctor had one especially strong moment on the opening drive against Commanders defensive tackle Shy Tuttle. With Achane moving left, Proctor drove Tuttle all the way to the far right side of the trenches and took him out of the play.
The tight ends added another layer to that same theme. Hafley has talked about them as potential weapons for Willis, but Friday also showed how useful they can be as blockers.
“I thought Dulcich was a guy who showed up physically,” Hafley said. “Kacmarek had some plays where he was just driving people back.
The physicality is getting closer to what I want. Can we do it when we get tired?
Can we do it later in camp? Can we do it in the second preseason game?”
Dulcich only played eight snaps, but his blocking drew notice. Will Kacmarek got more work and made the most of it, holding up against defenders who outweighed him by 40 to 50 pounds whether he lined up left or right of the line or came across in motion.
Kacmarek’s block on Commanders linebacker Javontae Jean-Baptiste gave Willis enough time to throw to Caleb Douglas. Then, at the goal line, Miami used both tight ends again, with Kacmarek sealing off Tuttle and Dulcich blocking Drake Jackson to help create just enough room for Achane to score the Dolphins’ only touchdown.
That sequence was the clearest snapshot of the day: Miami’s physicality showed up in the run game, on the line of scrimmage, and in the details that turned a good snap into a touchdown.
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