Dolphins rookie running back De’Von Achane turned in another stellar performance on Sunday, but he didn’t emerge from the 31-16 win over the Giants unscathed. Head coach Mike McDaniel was asked at his Monday press conference if Achane hurt his ankle during the game and he said that Achane did pick up an injury to his knee that is currently under evaluation. “He’s kinda dealing with — it’s more of his knee and we’re evaluating it. More information as it goes,” McDaniel said. McDaniel said it is “to be determined” if Achane is at risk of missing this week’s game against the Panthers. Achane ran 11 times for 151 yards on Sunday and scored on a 76-yard run in the first half. That was his seventh touchdown in the last three weeks and Achane is averaging 12.1 yards per rush so far this season.
When we noted last week that Dolphins running back De’Von Achane was averaging 11.4 yards per carry, it may have seemed like the kind of quirky early-season statistic that existed only because of a small sample size. But a funny thing happened on Sunday: Achane had another monster game and saw his yards per carry average go up. After carrying 11 times for 151 yards in Sunday’s win over the Giants, Achane now has 38 carries for 460 yards this season, an absurd average of 12.1 yards per carry. In each of his last three games, Achane has gained more than 100 rushing yards while averaging more than 10 yards per carry. That’s something that Barry Sanders, perhaps the greatest big-play threat ever to play the running back position, never did even once in his entire NFL career. Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is leading the NFL with an average of 9.7 yards per pass. That’s great — and it’s two and a half yards per play less than what Achane is averaging per run. (League-wide, passes typically gain about three more yards than runs; the league average yardage per pass is 7.0 and the league average yardage per run is 4.2.) At some point, Achane’s average simply has to go down, but what the Dolphins’ offense has done with Achane over the last three weeks defies what should be possible in the NFL. It’s been a stunning start to a career.
Most rushing yards by a rookie RB is 1808 yards (and 18 TD's) by Erik Dickerson in 1983. Achane, if he's not too hurt to play, has a chance to break that. Will be difficult to sustain this level of play though. Dickerson set the record for rushing yards the next year with 2105.
Lovely stats, but if this defense doesn't turn the corner quickly we could be in for some real problems. After the panthers we have a really tough schedule so I don't want to look past the panthers but we have KC, NE, JETS, and Philly all games we "Could" lose if we come back from that trip and were 1-3 we're at 5-5 and the wheels will fall off. which isn't going to win the division or conference which we desperately need to have a chance. DO not count NE or Jets as give me games. We have to beat the teams we are supposed to beat.
Oh, come on. Have you been watching the Patriots? They've gotten progressively worse since we played them.
My opinion, after the A$$ whooping Buffalo put on us, I think that was a wake up call. After obliterating Denver like we did, I think the Dolphins got a big head and we’re served a big ole slice of humble pie. The defense bounced back and beat the breaks off of the Giants. Scrub team but nonetheless, the defense did what it was supposed to do. I suspect the same thing will happen against Carolina. After the whooping Buffalo put on Miami, I don’t think Miami is going to travel up to Philadelphia with the over inflated sense of invincibility.
https://x.com/adamschefter/status/1711718454133129663?s=46&t=BWKHaknLQGwTzHwEdMnyvQ why can’t this team ever have nice things?
Just put him on IR. They have Wilson coming back. He and Mostert can hold it down. Then in November we can activate Ramsey, Armstead and Achane for the stretch run.
Terrible news. However, the bright side is that he's not 100% needed to win right now, and I'd rather have him surging late in the season than now. Hoping and praying he makes it back healthy. It's really frustrating because the kid would have had a shot at the rushing record this season.
Oh good grief. He would have really been useful against Philly, helping to slow down that pass rush. What did he even do to his knee?
My guess is its a sprain.. we’re going ti miss his productivity but i think they should sit him for the next 2 games.. we have enough offensively to get things going for 4 weeks while hes recovering.
Feel bad for the guy. Has the potential to put up rookie record numbers. Wishing him a speedy recovery and hoping he has a bright future in Miami.
The goal this season is to win it all. Records are nice but as long as he's healthy when it counts this is just a little bump in the road.
This does indeed suck but our stable of running backs are deep enough that we can afford to keep Achane on the sideline until he’s healthy.
I'll be really surprised if we lose to either NE or Jets. The defence seems to get getting it's mojo back for stopping running backs, it has looked much better the last few weeks. We will force both of those teams to beat us by passing and I think the offence can score enough to get the wins. Eagles and Chiefs are another matter completely. Offence will need to score at least 34 in each of those games to give us a chance imho.
As for Achane being out, it sucks but lets see what Jeff Wilson looks like behind this improved line. He was a guy that averaged 5 ypc last season so I would hope he can continue that. Obviously he's not the home run threat that Achane is. Both Brooks and Ahmed looked pretty good in limited time as well. Also want to shout out Brooks for his lead blocking on those toss plays where he jet motions across the formation and then just takes defensive backs out the play. Both Brooks and Julian Hill look like great blockers on the move, brilliant finds as UDFA's.
Only 5 ypc? That's trash! JK. Achane has definitely raised the bar though putting up unreal numbers this season.
Word on Tuesday was that Dolphins running back De’Von Achane might be headed to injured reserve because of the knee injury he suffered in last Sunday’s win over the Giants. That decision has reportedly been made. Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that Achane will be placed on the list and miss at least the next four games. Miami plays the Panthers at home, the Eagles on the road, the Patriots at home, and the Chiefs on the road in those contests. They have a bye after the Chiefs game, so Week 11 will be the earliest possible return date for the rookie standout. Achane has scored seven touchdowns in the last three games and has shown a knack for making the kind of big plays that have defined the Dolphins offense through the early weeks of the season. They still have players like Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, and Raheem Mostert, so they are still well-stocked with players who share that ability as they move into the next stretch of the schedule.
One hallmark of a great team is the "next man up" mentality. A key player goes down and you lose little in overall production (especially points scored/allowed). Isn't going to be possible for some players like Tua, but it should be for Achane. And by that I don't mean we're going to see another RB produce like Achane did. I mean that the offense (overall) shouldn't miss a beat. We're still a massive -13.5 favorite against Panthers, which shows you how little Achane matters in bettors minds for our chances to win. 5-1 coming up with another comfortable victory.
Yeah, I think we're deep at the position. But having a home run hitter at the position gives DCs a tough decision about whether they want to shadow the rook with a box safety or use him to cover Hill. It's a pick your poison situation.
From espn.com: Dolphins putting RB De'Von Achane (knee) on IR, sources say Oct 11, 2023, 11:40 AM ET The Dolphins are placing standout rookie running back De'Von Achane on injured reserve due to a knee injury, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter on Wednesday. Achane will miss at least the Dolphins' next four games (home against the Panthers, at the Eagles, home against the Patriots and against the Chiefs in Germany). With the team scheduled for a bye in Week 10, the first game he will be eligible to return will be in Week 11 when the Dolphins host the Raiders. Achane sustained his knee injury in Sunday's 31-16 win over the Giants, a game in which he rushed for 151 yards on 11 carries and scored on a 76-yard touchdown run. Achane has been highly effective through his first four games with the Dolphins. His 460 rushing yards ranks second in the NFL behind Christian McCaffrey, and his 12.1 yards per carry average is nearly 5 yards greater than that of the next closest player this season, Breece Hall (7.2). His yards per carry average is also the highest in NFL history through a team's first five games of a season, according to ESPN Stats & Info research. On the strength of Achane's performances over the past three weeks, the Dolphins lead the NFL in passing, rushing and scoring while accumulating the most yards of offense through five games in NFL history. Without Achane in the lineup, veteran Raheem Mostert, the NFL's co-leader in rushing touchdowns, is in line for a heavier workload. A source told ESPN the Dolphins will also activate the practice window for running back Jeff Wilson Jr., who has spent the first four weeks of the season on injured reserve with multiple injuries. The Dolphins signed running back Jake Funk to the practice squad Tuesday. Funk cleared waivers Monday after being released by the Indianapolis Colts. ESPN's Marcel Louis-Jacques contributed to this report. https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/38632567/dolphins-putting-rb-devon-achane-knee-ir-sources-say
