AJAYI’S 1,213 RUSHING YARDS
RB Jay Ajayi is having one of the most successful seasons ever by a Dolphins running back. He enters Week 17 with 1,213 rushing yards, the sixth-most in the NFL this season, the fourth-most in a single-season in Dolphins history and most since RB Ricky Williams rushed for 1,372 yards in 2003. Ajayi is just 46 yards away from moving into third place – past RB Delvin Williams (1978; 1,258 yards) – and just 160 yards away from moving into second place past Ricky Williams’ 2003 total. The team record is 1,853 rushing yards set by Ricky Williams in 2002.
THREE OF THE BEST RUSHING EFFORTS IN TEAM HISTORY
RB Jay Ajayi has produced three of the top six rushing performances in the Dolphins’ illustrious 51-year history this season. His rushing totals rank No. 3, No. 5 and No. 6 all-time in team history.
THE JAY-TRAIN IS NFL’S MOST IMPROVED RUSHER
RB Jay Ajayi is the NFL’s most improved rusher from last season, gaining 1,026 yards more than his 2015 total with one game still to play.
THE 200-YARD MAN
RB Jay Ajayi rushed for 200 yards in three contests this season, including back-to-back games in Week 6 and Week 7, becoming one of only four players to accomplish that feat in NFL history. Two of his 200-yard games came against the Buffalo Bills while the third was vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers.
MORE ON AJAYI’S 200-YARD GAMES
RB Jay Ajayi joined O.J. Simpson (1973 and 1976), Earl Campbell (1980) and Ricky Williams (2002) as the only players in NFL history to rush for 200-plus yards in consecutive games earlier this season in Weeks 6 and 7.
He is one of just four NFL players to ever rush for 200 yards at least three times in the same season. The others to do so are Earl Campbell (1980, four times), O.J. Simpson (1973, three times) and Tiki Barber (2005, three times).
Ajayi rushed for 420 yards in two games against Buffalo this season, the fourth-highest rushing total against one team in a single season, trailing Jamal Lewis (500 vs. Cleveland in 2003), O.J. Simpson (469 vs. New England in 1973) and LaDainian Tomlinson (430 vs. Oakland in 2003).
AJAYI IN THE LAST 10 GAMES
A big reason for Miami’s success in winning nine of its past 10 games has been the emergence of RB Jay Ajayi. The second-year back has totaled 213 carries for 1,096 yards (5.2 avg.) and six touchdowns during the past 10 games and had four 100-yard games, including three 200-yard contests.
Since Week 6, Ajayi leads the NFL in rushing yards (1,096) and is second in 10-plus yard runs (35). He is third in rst down carries (52) and third in yards per carry (5.2).
Ajayi has perfomed against some of the best run defenses in the league. Since Week 6, six of Miami’s 10 games have come against teams ranked among the top 15 rush defenses in the NFL (Baltimore No. 2; Pittsburgh No. 6; San Diego No. 10; Arizona No. 11 and N.Y. Jets No. 14 [twice]).
GIVE HIM THE ROCK IN THE SECOND HALF
RB Jay Ajayi ran for a team-record 153 yards in the second half of the Week 6 victory vs. Pittsburgh. He also has topped 100 second-half/ overtime yards twice against the Bills with 125 yards last week at Buffalo and 115 vs. Buffalo in Week 7. Ajayi owns three of the top ve largest second- half rushing totals in the league this season and is third in the NFL in second-half rushing with 667 yards on 117 carries (5.7 avg.). His 5.7 yards per carry in the second half leads the NFL.
1,000-YARD DUO
RB Jay Ajayi and WR Jarvis Landry each topped 1,000 yards for the season in the Week 15 win at the N.Y. Jets. It marked just the second time a Dolphins team has had a 1,000-yard rusher and a 1,000-yard receiver in the same season (2011 – RB Reggie Bush rushed for 1,086 yards and WR Brandon Marshall posted 1,124 receiving yards).
LANDRY HITS 1,000 YARDS AND 80 RECEPTIONS
WR Jarvis Landry has 1,060 receiving yards for the season, good for the 12th-most receiving yards in a season in team history. Landry is the rst Dolphins wide receiver to go over 1,000 in back-to-back seasons since Brian Hartline did in 2012 and 2013 and is the sixth Dolphins wide out to ever post consecutive 1,000-yard seasons (Mark Clayton, Mark Duper, Irving Fryar, Brian Hartline and Brandon Marshall). He totaled 1,157 receiving yards last year.
With 85 receptions this season, Landry ranks No. 4 in single-season team history. He needs just two receptions to move into third place and six to move into second place. Landry owns three of the franchise’s top six single-season reception marks, including the team record of 110 he set in 2015.
LANDRY ON THIRD DOWN
WR Jarvis Landry is tied for third in the league with 26 third-down receptions. The reliable target has 335 yards on third downs, the sixth-best mark in the NFL.
RYAN PLAYING HIS BEST FOOTBALL
Prior to his injury in Week 14, QB Ryan Tannehill had been playing some of the best football of his career. Tannehill posted three of his top ve best quarterback ratings in his last ve games. He had a 130.6 rating in Week 10 at San Diego and Week 12 vs. San Francisco, which tied for the second best rating of his career. He also posted a 124.0 rating in Week 14 vs. Arizona, the fith-best rating of his career.
TANNEHILL IMPROVED RATING
AND EFFICIENCY
QB Ryan Tannehill has a 93.5 quarterback rating and is averaging 7.70 yards per attempt. Both marks rank in the top half of the NFL this season and are career highs. It’s the highest passer rating by a Dolphins quarterback through his rst 13 games (min: 150 att.) since QB Chad Pennington had a 93.7 rating through the rst 13 games of the 2008 season.
TANNEHILL’S 100 TOUCHDOWNS
QB Ryan Tannehill threw his 100th career touchdown in Week 12 vs. San Francisco as part of a three-touchdown effort in the win. He is one of just three Dolphins quarterbacks to throw for 100 touchdowns, joining Dan Marino (420) and Bob Griese (192), and now has 103 career touchdown passes. With another three-touchdown performance vs. Arizona in Week 14, Tannehill now has 11 career games with three-plus touchdown passes, also third-most in Dolphins history behind Marino (62) and Griese (15).
TANNEHILL HAS THE DEEP BALL
QB Ryan Tannehill has seven games this season with a completion of at least 50 yards after he hit WR Jarvis Landry for a 71-yard gain to set up a Miami touchdown in the third quarter of th Week 14 game vs. Arizona.
The seven games with a 50-plus yard play are tied for the most in the NFL this season and already a career high for Tannehill. It tops his previous career high of three games set in 2013. Baltimore’s Joe Flacco and Washington’s Kirk Cousins also have seven games with a 50-plus yard completion during the 2016 season.
In the two games that QB Matt Moore has started, he too has completed passes of 50-plus yards in both contests, giving the Dolphins nine such games this season.
TANNEHILL BECOMES DOLPHINS RECORD-HOLDER
QB Ryan Tannehill has not only been an effective passer, but he has also showcased his mobility and running ability during his ve-year NFL career. Tannehill is the Dolphins’ all-time career leader in rushing yards by a quarterback with 1,045 yards. He surpassed Hall of Fame quarterback Bob Griese’s 994 rushing yards in the Week 11 win at Los Angeles.
MOORE’S LAST 11 STARTS
QB Matt Moore was sixth in the NFL in quarterback rating (97.8) over the nal nine games of the 2011 season, the last starts he made before he started the past two games in place of an injured QB Ryan Tannehill. Add in Moore’s two starts this season and he has completed 170-of-280 passes (60.7 pct.) for 2,260 yards, 18 touchdowns and seven interceptions in his past 11 career starts, dating back to 2011. That equates to a 97.3 passer rating.
ONE OF THE AFC’S BEST 2ND-HALF PERFORMANCES
QB Matt Moore completed 11-of-16 passes (68.8 pct.) for 176 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions in the second half and overtime of Miami’s win at Buffalo last week. The effort gave him a 144.8 passer rating, which was the fth-best rating in the second half and overtime by an AFC quarterback this season and the third-best second half performance of Moore’s career.
The comeback victory was the fourth fourth-quarter comeback of Moore’s career and the overtime possession to win the game was Moore’s sixth career game-winning drive. Moore also led a game-winning drive in Week 14 vs. Arizona.
MOORE’S FIRST START IN FIVE YEARS
QB Matt Moore made his rst start in ve years in the Week 15 win at the N.Y. Jets and didn’t show any rust, earning AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors. He threw for a career-high four touchdowns, becoming the rst Dolphins quarterback since Oct. 25, 2015 to throw four touchdowns in a game (QB Ryan Tannehill vs. Houston). It was the most touchdown passes by a Dolphins QB against the N.Y. Jets since QB Dan Marino threw four on Nov. 27, 1994. Moore also posted a 126.2 passer rating, the fourth-highest of his career and the highest for a Dolphins QB against the N.Y. Jets since QB Chad Henne posted a 130.4 rating in a home win on Oct. 12, 2009.
STILLS RANKS NO. 2 IN NFL IN YARDS PER RECEPTION
WR Kenny Stills has been a big-play threat for the Dolphins this season, catching 38 passes for 685 yards (18.0 avg.) and eight touchdowns. His 18.0 yards per reception average is second in the NFL behind New England’s Chris Hogan (19.2).
BOOMER SOONER
WR Kenny Stills has caught a career-high eight touchdowns this season, which is tied for sixth in the NFL. Three of his touchdowns have been on 50-plus yard plays. According to NFL Network, Stills is the rst Dolphins player to have three touchdown catches of 50-plus yards in the same season since WR Mark Duper did in 1986.
EFFICIENT OFFENSE
The Dolphins are second in the AFC in yards per play, averaging 5.90 yards per snap. They have gained 5,044 yards on 855 rst-down plays and rank No. 7 in the NFL in the statistic. Miami is also No. 2 in the AFC in yards per play on rst down, averaging 5.78 yards per rst down snap. 
Facebook
Twitter
RSS