When we noted last week that Dolphins running back De’Von Achane was averaging 11.4 yards per carry, it may have seemed like an odd early-season statistic that only existed because of a small sample size. But a funny thing happened on Sunday: Achane had another monster game and saw his yards per carry average go up.
After completing 11 carries for 151 yards in Sunday’s win over the Giants, Achane now has 38 carries for 460 yards this season, an absurd average of 12.1 yards per carry.
In each of his last three games, Achane has gained more than 100 rushing yards while averaging more than 10 yards per carry. That’s something Barry Sanders, perhaps the greatest big-play threat of all time at the running back position, has never done once in his entire NFL career.
Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa leads the NFL with an average of 9.7 yards per pass. That’s great – and it’s two and a half yards per play less than Achane averages per carry. (Across the league, passes typically gain about three yards more than runs; the average yardage per pass is 7.0 and the average yardage per run is 4.2.)
At some point, Achane’s average simply has to drop, but what the Dolphins’ offense has done with Achane over the last three weeks is beyond what should be possible in the NFL. It was a breathtaking start to his career.