How Dolphins Have Fared vs. Elite RBs With Bijan on Deck

The Miami Dolphins’ defense has a daunting challenge in Week 8 against the Atlanta Falcons. It’ll have to figure out how to bottle up one of the best running backs, if not the best, in the league: Bijan Robinson. 

Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel is well aware of the challenge that Robinson poses. 

“Pack mentality, meaning you don’t have this one special guru tackler,” McDaniel told reporters Friday. “You have to be sound, but you have to be urgent. You have to have multiple players in the vicinity, make him stop his feet, and have a group of people putting their pads on him at once. If you are in space and he’s coming up on you, you have to shoot your guns and wrap. You can’t just try to knock him down with a shoulder pad, you better wrap up.” 

Wrapping up ball carriers hasn’t exactly been a strength of the Dolphins’ defense this season. So the question should be asked: What’s the team's track record against elite running backs? 

Let’s dive into the numbers and find out. 

Dolphins vs. Elite RBs in 2025 

“Elite” is a subjective term, but we’ll consider Jonathan Taylor and James Cook as the only running backs Miami has faced this season who qualify. 

The Dolphins faced Taylor in Week 1, and funnily enough, they actually kept him somewhat in check. The now-Offensive Player of the Year front-runner had just 71 yards on 18 carries against Miami. 

That is Taylor’s second-lowest yardage output of the season, and his 3.9 yards per carry is tied for his worst mark. 

The Dolphins boxed up Taylor just fine, but they did allow Indianapolis to rush for 140 yards total and three rushing touchdowns, so it wasn’t a stellar run-defense performance overall. 

The same cannot be said of the Dolphins’ Week 3 matchup with Cook and the Bills. He carried the ball 19 times for 108 yards and scored one touchdown. His 5.7 yards per carry average is his second-highest mark of the season. 

It’s also important to point out that many of Cook’s rushing yards came in the first half, as Miami’s defense tightened up quite a bit in the second half. Still, Cook wasn’t met with consistent resistance in Week 3. 

Dolphins vs. Elite RBs in 2024 

Last season also provided a few examples of the Dolphins battling some elite ball carriers.

Christian McCaffrey was hurt for the team’s matchup against the 49ers, and Taylor was also out in last year’s game against the Colts, but Miami did face Josh Jacobs at Lambeau Field in Week 13. 

Although that game got away from Miami, most of their struggles were tackling receivers in space, not the running backs. Jacobs finished the game with 19 carries for 43 yards and one touchdown. 

In fact, Green Bay’s most effective rusher in that game was former Dolphins RB Chris Brooks, who had three carries for 28 yards. 

The only other running back Miami played last season who might be “elite” was, again, Cook. In his two games against the Dolphins, he went for 78 yards on 11 carries and 44 yards on 10 carries. 

What Does This Mean vs. Robinson? 

As much as Miami’s run defense has been a problem this season, its track record against elite running backs in recent seasons isn’t too bad. 

It mostly kept Taylor in check for Week 1, completely bottled up Jacobs last season, and proved it could stop Cook last year and during the second half of the Week 3 matchup this season. 

The Dolphins just had their best performance of the season against the run in Cleveland, allowing a season-low 102 yards and 3.3 yards per carry. Robinson is a different kind of challenge, but aside from history, there’s at least a glimmer of hope. 

As good as Robinson is, the Falcons’ offense tends to be pretty streaky. Of Robinson’s 524 rushing yards this season, 313 came in two games against the Vikings and Bills. 

Robinson can be bottled up. It’s not easy, but it’s possible. Last week, the 49ers’ injury-riddled defense limited him to just 40 yards on 14 carries. Tampa Bay kept him from recording 30 yards in Week 1. 

This is in no way suggesting the Dolphins are likely to keep Robinson from running free Sunday — their overall body of work against the run should inspire no such confidence. 

However, the team has mostly survived its bouts with elite runners in recent seasons. It’ll have to do more than survive to win against Atlanta, though.