It was always going to be tough to call what the Miami Dolphins did at running back in Week 4.
They lost De’Von Achane to a torn ACL injury that he sustained in Week 3, and so they had to turn to the tandem of Jaylen Wright and Ollie Gordon II against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday — and it’ll likely be some form of this split for as long as these guys stay healthy.
Many thought Wright would lead the way. He had been ahead of Gordon on most depth charts over the past two seasons.
Wright was in the game earlier on Sunday, too, but that didn’t stop Gordon from putting up big numbers.
At the end of three quarters, it was Gordon having the huge day.
He had run for 53 yards on one play, and overall he had eight rushes for 98 yards and a six-yard touchdown.
Wright had run five times for seven yards.
Gordon also had the only two targets out of the backfield, although they had gone for zero yards on his two catches.
Why Isn’t Jaylen Wright Doing Anything?
The reality of this backfield split is that it turned into a hot-hand situation.
Wright, before Gordon’s drive with a 53-yard run that he capped with a touchdown, had almost as many touches as Gordon.
The problem is that Gordon had turned his runs into more than 10 yards per carry, and Wright was averaging 1.4 yards per carry.
The Dolphins had no reason to play Wright in that scenario.
Wright is also coming off a foot injury that kept him out of Week 3, while Gordon got 17 carries in relief of Achane in Week 3. These guys are probably at different levels of in-game fitness.
Wright could still have weeks where he gets more usage. This looks like it’ll be a frustrating split for fantasy football players.
For Week 4, though, Gordon is the clear winner.
Speaking of Odd: Where is Chris Bell?
The other odd thing on the Dolphins’ stat sheet through three quarters is that Chris Bell, the rookie wide receiver, didn’t have a catch.
Malik Washington has had a reliable day out of the slot, though, and so the easiest explanation here is that Malik Willis simply found a better place to throw the football on Sunday.
Bell is also relatively unproven, so it makes sense that he wouldn’t be particularly consistent.
Still — some Dolphins are definitely having better days than others.
Why Jaylen Wright Isn’t Doing Anything in Big Ollie Gordon Game for Dolphins