In a game that saw the Miami Dolphins get out to a slow start against the Washington Redskins, Dolphin fans had a lot to cheer for after the team came back in the fourth quarter to win the game.

In a game, the Dolphins were supposed to easily win, playing a Redskins team that lacked enough talent on both sides of the ball to pull off the upset. However, before wide receiver Jarvis Landry’s punt return touchdown, in the fourth, the Dolphins found themselves in a slugfest of sorts, struggling to move the ball on the offensive side. Here a few of the takeaways fans can look forward to moving into week 2:

Trust & More Carries for Lamar Miller

Prior to the fourth quarter, RB Lamar Miller saw only six total carries for the first three quarters of the game. However, with the Dolphins ahead, Miller was heavily relied upon to run the clock down, carrying the ball on seven occasions, to finish the game with 13 carries and 53 yards, with one catch for 22 yards. Miami Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin plans on using the running back more in the coming season, so expect those numbers to go up as the season progresses.

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Problems with the Defensive & Offensive Lines

The Dolphins struggled to stop the run, giving up 161 yards rushing on 37 attempts by the Redskins. This was largely due to the game plan the Redskins had of neutralizing DT Ndamukong Suh by hitting him low or running the ball in the opposite direction altogether. Expect teams to continue to run away from Suh and make the rest of the defense step up to stop the run.

The offensive line also struggled to protect QB Ryan Tannehill, sacking him on three occasions and knocking him down on two others. With an offensive line that hasn’t been able to keep opponents from the quarter back and often struggled to run block, the Dolphins are going to have to put significant emphasis on improving the performance of the starting line throughout the season or they could face nightmares against the better defenses around the league.

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