‘The Greatest Show on Surf?’ The Dolphins offense is drawing comparisons to historic units

A smattering of boos began to surface at Hard Rock Stadium.

Very few things could elicit such a response as the Miami Dolphins were putting a bow on a 50-point win against the Denver Broncos. But in this instance, bypassing the opportunity to kick a field goal and set an NFL regular season record for points in a game did so.

Still, with a 70-20 blowout victory, the Dolphins offense had firmly etched its name in history.

Miami set franchise records for points scored, yards and touchdowns in the Week 3 win. And with 130 points through three games, the Dolphins are only behind the 1968 Dallas Cowboys for the most points in the first three games of a season. Miami’s 1,651 total yards of offense also surpassed the 2011 New England Patriots for the most by a team through its first three games of a season.

The sample size is small — three games in a 17-game regular season — but the Dolphins are operating the most explosive and unique offense in the league — and garnering comparisons to some of the best units of all time.

“The speed, the timing in which we play, the presnap motions, the scheme that [coach] Mike [McDaniel] sets up for us, how we play,” quarterback Tua Tagovailoa said Wednesday of what distinguishes Miami’s offense. “We go out, we play fast. And then the communication, things that we wanted to work on this offseason. It’s an accumulation of a lot of things, but I think all those things, they have to play a role in this offense. If not, our offense doesn’t go.”

In 2000, former NFL defensive back Matt Bowen was drafted by the St. Louis Rams, a franchise that featured one of the best offenses of all time in the late 1990s and early 2000s. With a unit led by quarterback Kurt Warner, running back Marshall Faulk and wide receivers Torry Holt and Issac Bruce, the “The Greatest Show on Turf” scored 1,569 points from 1999 to 2001, an NFL record for the most points scored during a three-year span.

Bowen, who played in St. Louis in the 2000 and 2001 seasons, sees stark similarities to Miami, from their personnel to scheme. Like the Rams, the Dolphins have a bevy of playmakers at multiple positions. Three Dolphins — wide receiver Tyreek Hill and running backs Raheem Mostert and De’Von Achane — make up the five fastest-timed ball carries this season, according to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats. And Miami’s record-setting performance came with wide receiver Jayen Waddle sidelined because of a concussion.

“I think The Greatest Show on Turf is a pretty good comparison in the sense that Mike Martz, those guys, Tory, Isaac Bruce, they loved the middle of the field too. Those dig routes over the middle,” said Bobby Peters, who has written multiple books breaking down NFL offenses, including on Miami’s 2022 unit.

“That’s what the Dolphins do, as well. They work those drift routes and those deep dig cuts on dagger better than anybody since The Greatest Show on Turf, so I think that’s a pretty fair comparison.”

What makes the Dolphins different, Bowen said, is the amount of motion the Dolphins use, before and after the snap. According to ESPN, the Dolphins have a player in motion at the time of the snap on 59 percent of plays, which is the most since ESPN began tracking the metric in 2017.

With a group of players that can double as a 4x1 track team essentially getting a running start before the ball snaps, defenses are put in a bind.

“They consistently test the eye discipline of opposing defenders,” Bowen, who works as an NFL analyst for ESPN, told the Miami Herald in a phone interview.

At the center of it is Tagovailoa, the fourth-year quarterback who is the front-runner for the league’s Most Valuable Player award. Tagovailoa has been getting the ball out of his hands at a lightning-quick pace. His average time to throw of 2.34 seconds ranks first in the league, according to Next Gen Stats.

And with the speed of the Dolphins’ receivers, he’s still able to push the ball downfield. Tagovailoa’s 9.2-yard average depth of target ranks fifth.

“When I played with Kurt and watched him, it was about his ability to throw with timing and rhythm, to anticipate and to deliver the ball really with elite location. And so you’re seeing with Tua right now,” Bowen said.

Several wrinkles have taken the Dolphins’ offense to another level, according to Peters, who played college football at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, a Division III program.

The most significant has been the increase in a new presnap “exit” motion that puts Dolphins pass-catchers in a tight alignment next to the offensive line before sprinting out as the ball is snapped. The Dolphins had used plenty of motions in 2022, the first season under McDaniel, but this one makes it even harder for defenses to communicate because a player can motion in either way, as opposed to motioning from a wide alignment.

Bowen, who coaches high school football, said he’s “stolen about three things from the Dolphins in the last week,” including the exit motion.

Bowen and Peters also said McDaniel’s role as a play-caller can’t be overstated as the second-year coach is quickly establishing himself as one of the preeminent offensive minds in the NFL. Years after leading the run game with the San Francisco 49ers, McDaniel is successfully putting his own spin on the Shanahan-style offense that he watched as a ballboy for the Broncos and spent several years as an assistant mastering.

“They have interchangeable parts, as well, which again creates an enormous amount of stress from a defensive perspective,” Bowen said.

Peters noted that in his review of the offense through three weeks, the game plan has been different and tailored to each individual opponent.

“And then even during the game, coach McDaniel and his staff are doing a great job of adjusting during the game, too,” he said. “So even if you have a great game plan to start, they have different parts of their playbook or even if you studied their last couple opponents, you have no idea what you’re gonna get on Sunday from them.”

As the Dolphins’ offense prepares for its next test against a stout Buffalo Bills defense on Sunday, it’s natural to wonder how defenses will look to limit such a dynamic unit.

“Honestly, I’m kind of struggling to come up with a one solution to stop them,” said Peters, who noted that teams will try to crowd the middle of the field but the Dolphins have already found effective counters.

Bowen and Peters said they could see teams replicate the Patriots’ unorthodox Week 2 game plan, with three deep safeties that rotate into different spots after the snap. But still, there’s no replicating the unprecedented speed the Dolphins have accumulated on one side of the ball.

Bills coach Sean McDermott, who is also the Bills’ defensive play-caller, called the Dolphins’ scheme “almost revolutionary.”

“If you can get a couple Usain Bolts ... and run scout team with about three or four of those guys, I think that’ll give us a good look,” he said.