Five things to watch for in Dolphins at 49ers on Sunday

By admin — In News — September 16, 2026

   ​It’s Week 2 for the Miami Dolphins rebuild and we’ll soon see how quickly one-week regular-season progress can be made as the low-expectation Dolphins (0-1) visit the high-expectation San Francisco 49ers (1-0) on Sunday, and the Dolphins have lots of areas for improvement.Few think the Dolphins will win this game — they started the week as 13 1/2-point underdogs, which is an extreme margin in the NFL — but Miami should be able to shore up some things that went wrong in last Sunday’s 27-13 loss at the Las Vegas Raiders.Here are five things to watch for in Sunday’s game:CoachingWe’ll see how much Miami’s top coaches — head coach Jeff Hafley, offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik, defensive coordinator Sean Duggan and special teams coordinator Chris Tabor — learned about their players last Sunday, and whether they’re able to apply that knowledge this week. Players were OK on Xs and Os against the Raiders but in areas such as physicality, tackling, special team assignments, pass coverage and penalties there were numerous errors.That’s understandable. It was Week 1 of a rebuild with a young roster. The important thing is how the coaches guide their players from here. There should be one or two areas of tangible improvement this week, and if not it’ll reflect poorly on the coaching.Run game/run defenseRun game and run defense success gets into physicality, a major demand from Hafley. The Dolphins rushed for 74 yards on 18 carries and allowed Las Vegas to rush for 130 yards on 37 carries.Both are bad for a few reasons. Running back De’Von Achane (36 yards on 11 carries) had few holes to run through. That must change and that starts with the offensive line, led by All Pro center Aaron Brewer, rookie left guard Kadyn Proctor and left tackle Patrick Paul, blowing open some holes. San Francisco allowed 122 rushing yards to the Los Angeles Rams in Week 1, so there’s hope for Miami’s run game to gain some yards and have sustained drives.Defensively, the Dolphins must be careful because San Francisco rushed for 174 yards last week led by running back Christian McCaffrey’s 68 yards and Kaelon Black’s 65 yards. The Dolphins’ front seven, led by defensive tackle Zach Sieler, All Pro linebacker Jordyn Brooks (11 tackles) and rookie linebacker Jacob Rodriguez (14 tackles, second in the NFL), must be better.Related Articles Dolphins Q&A: Who had better debut, Proctor or Bain? Has ceiling changed for Willis? Dolphins Deep Dive: Look for improvement against 49ers | VIDEO Dolphins Deep Dive: Where was Chop Robinson vs. Raiders? | VIDEO Dolphins Deep Dive: Are there issues with Willis throwing over O-line? | VIDEO Dolphins Deep Dive: Where does offense need to improve? | VIDEO Malik WillisQuarterback Malik Willis (15 of 27, 220 yards, no touchdowns, one interception, 66.9 passer rating) was so-so in his debut. He made good decisions and didn’t repeat mistakes, but this week he must  

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