Strength in Numbers: Actionable Week 17 Stats

We’re going to get a lot of stuff wrong, but sifting through usage metrics can help us work through what matters and what doesn’t. That’s the goal of this article: to break down the most actionable takeaways from each week in a concise, numbers-filled format and work through what’s important. Let’s get right to it.

De’Von Achane dominates usage with Raheem Mostert (knee, ankle) out

Mike McDaniel steadfastly insisted during the week that the 31-year-old Mostert would be good to go for Week 17, but the Dolphins ended up playing it safe with their veteran RB. That meant Achane and Jeff Wilson were the two primary backs for Miami on Sunday. Wilson got real playing time in Week 16 once Mostert went out, especially on early downs and in short-yardage situations, but Achane was mostly a workhorse against Baltimore. The rookie ended up with 14 carries vs. three for Wilson — Chris Brooks also had four garbage-time carries on Miami’s final drive of the game — and a 4/30/1 line through the air. Achane has been plenty involved as a pass catcher lately — two of his three highest route share games are in the last three weeks — but his route participation remained merely okay with 19 routes on 44 Tua Tagovailoa dropbacks. Wilson did get a goal-line carry for the Dolphins in the fourth quarter, but Achane then came back in to score a short receiving TD on the very next play.

Mostert should be back for a division-deciding Week 18 bout against the Bills, but we should expect a similar workload for Achane if he’s out. Wilson may factor in near the goal line and in short-yardage situations given he’s the bigger back, but the Dolphins were still using Achane on goal-line snaps, so it’s not like Wilson has a monopoly on those carries like Mostert does.

Khalil Herbert steps into lead back role with D’Onta Foreman a healthy scratch