Kelly: Five fixes for the Dolphins’ final five games | Opinion

A team only gets to lick its wounds for only so long in the NFL before the vultures start circling.

Thursday night’s 30-17 loss to the Green Bay Packers was certainly humbling, but it wasn’t a death blow to Miami Dolphins’ playoff hopes.

The Dolphins (5-7) still have a legitimate chance of advancing to the postseason if coach Mike McDaniel’s team can somehow manage to win out, beating all five of the season’s final opponents, finishing 2024 with 10 wins.

But to do that the Dolphins have plenty of areas to clean up, and must find another gear on offense and defense.

Here are five things that would help McDaniel’s team put their best foot forward the rest of the way.

Unleash the injured edge rushers

At this point in the season, what is the harm in opening up Bradley Chubb and Cameron Goode’s 21-day window to return to the 53-man roster?

Both edge rushers are on the physically unable to perform list, which means they don’t count against the team’s eight players who can return from injured reserve. Chubb and Goode play a position of need considering Miami lost Tyus Bowser to a season-ending knee injury last week. If they can’t help in the season’s final month, 11 months into rehabilitating the knee injuries they each sustained in last year’s 56-19 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, this season will be a waste for both, and we’ll watch this defense bleed out slowly in the coming weeks.

That’s likely why Chubb, a starter, and Goode, a backup and special teams contributor, begin participating in practice Wednesday, and the hope is that both will prove they are ready to help on game day sooner than later.

Juice up the run game

Last season’s top-rated Dolphins offense was fueled by balance.

Put an extra man in the box to stop the run and Miami, which averaged a league-leading 5.1 yards per carry last season, would beat its opponent over the top, throwing deep.

Give the offense a two-safety high look and the Dolphins would typically run the ball. This season Miami’s struggles running the football — especially the last month, where the Dolphins are averaging 2.96 yards per carry in the past four games — has eliminated the big plays because there’s no fear factor associated with putting two safeties deep.

Nothing changes until Miami can run the ball more efficiently, consistently. As productive as De’Von Achane has been as Miami’s lead back, it would benefit the offense if Raheem Mostert had more carries come his way because of his track record. But Mostert must prove he’s deserving of a lead back role once again.

Kendall Fuller makes his return

I’m glad to see the Dolphins aren’t hypocrites and protected Fuller, who sustained his second concussion of the season on Nov. 11 in Miami’s win against the Rams, from himself in the same fashion that they kept Tua Tagovailoa from playing for the month he was sidelined..

Fuller has missed the past three games to let his brain heal, and the expectation is that the team’s starting cornerback might be cleared to play in Sunday’s home game against the Jets.

But first, he must practice without any side effects, and clear the NFL’s concussion protocol. The Dolphins need Fuller’s steadying presence on the field because Cam Smith and Kader Kohou are both nursing injuries, and depth at cornerback has become a concern without Fuller. Fuller’s return should also help Jalen Ramsey move around more — shadowing the opposition’s best receiver and playing nickel — which benefits everyone.

Become better at short-yardage plays

Miami has converted 13 of 21 chances on third-and-1. That 61.9 percent conversion rate is 23rd. On fourth-and-1 this season, Miami has converted only two of five chances. That 40 percent conversion rate is 31st in the league. Converting 11 for 20 on third/fourth down (very) short-yardage rushing attempts isn’t good enough, and making the issue worse is the fact that this has been a three-year problem for McDaniel’s team.

It’s puzzling to see many teams use an unbalanced line, which incorporates a sixth offensive lineman on the line of scrimmage, to convert in those situations. Yet, the Dolphins can’t figure out how to properly use an athletic 6-foot-7, 3320-pounder such as Patrick Paul, the rookie offensive tackle. Miami needs to suck it up and figure out a way to get tougher in these situations. Maybe they should consider using Tyler “Snoop” Huntley on quarterback sneaks.

Get more out of this expensive receiver duo

The Dolphins have the NFL’s most expensive receiver duo in Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle and they haven’t exactly gotten an ideal return from the $42 million invested this season.

Both Hill and Waddle are off to the worst season they have had statistically in their NFL careers, and while the offense continues to evolve it would be tragic if those two don’t catch a deep ball touchdown all season, which is the pace they are on.

McDaniel needs to get more creative about scheming up ways to get Hill and Waddle open in space, and no excuses should be made because Justin Jefferson and Ja’Marr Chase consistently face similar coverage looks and somehow they haven’t stopped delivering big plays and scores.