5 keys for the Dolphins to beat the Commanders in NFL Week 11

Over the last few weeks, the Miami Dolphins have looked like a new and improved squad. They won just one game across their first seven contests of the season, yet in their last three games alone, they’ve picked up two victories.

Miami all of a sudden has been showing signs of life on both sides of the ball, and it’s resulted in blowout victories over the Atlanta Falcons and Buffalo Bills in recent weeks.

They can pick up their third win in four games when they take on the Washington Commanders on Sunday. Washington is just 3-7 on the season (same record as Miami), and the team will also be without its star signal-caller Jayden Daniels.

Here are five keys to the Dolphins beating the Commanders and accumulating their first winning streak of the season in the process.

1. Give De’Von Achane lots of touches on the ground

With Achane on the heels of his best performance of the season, it only makes sense for the Dolphins to funnel the ball to him once again on Sunday. He ran for a season-high 174 yards and two touchdowns in their win over the Bills, and he might just carry over his momentum from that game into the Commanders contest.

The third-year running back is easily the most talented option that the Dolphins have at the position, as he has more than six times the number of rushing yards as any other player on the team. Not only that, but he’s on track to rack up 1,000-plus rushing yards for the first time as a pro this season.

The proof is in the numbers that the Dolphins are a better team when Achane gets plenty of opportunities to pick up yards on the ground. In the three games he’s totaled 18-plus carries for Miami, the team is 3-0, and his objective should be to match or eclipse that number versus Washington.

2. Win the turnover battle

Limiting mistakes is a key factor to winning at a high level in the NFL.

Miami has not been able to do that this season, turning the ball over a league-high 17 times.

Taking better care of the ball will be crucial for the Dolphins to beat the Commanders, as they’ve see turnovers doom them before, like in their loss to Baltimore. But, whether or not Miami can pull off such a performance will come down to quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.

Tagovailoa has been responsible for a whole lot of Miami’s turnovers this season, as he’s the current league leader in interceptions with 13. He’s thrown as many as three interceptions in a single game in the 2025 campaign, and if the Dolphins get that version of the signal-caller, that won’t do them any favors.

Miami needs the iteration of Tagovailoa who starred against the Falcons. In that game, which Miami won by a score of 34-10, he threw for four touchdowns without logging so much as a single interception.

3. Keep Deebo Samuel in check

With wide receiver Terry McLaurin and Daniels both ruled out for Sunday, it’s clear as to who Washington’s top offensive playmaker is. Samuel has shown signs of aging in recent years and is averaging a career-low 44.0 receiving yards per game this season, but he’s still someone the Dolphins’ secondary will need to hone in on with McLaurin on the shelf.

It’s no surprise that his gaudiest receiving performances of the season thus far have come with McLaurin out, and rest assured Marcus Mariota will target Samuel in the air early and often on Sunday.

As much as it’s crucial that the Dolphins don’t let Samuel have a huge receiving game, actually going out and limiting him is easier in theory than in practice. Miami’s secondary has been an area of weakness all season, as the unit is very young and frankly lacking a lot of proven talent.

The secondary will deserve a pat on the back if it can limit Samuel to 50 receiving yards or less.

4. Get Jaylen Waddle involved early on

Miami could potentially wrap up this game well before the final buzzer sounds by taking advantage of Washington’s poor passing defense. Of all the 32 teams in the league, the Commanders have allowed the most total passing yards up to this point in the season.

There’s no better way the Dolphins can exploit the Commanders’ porous passing defense early on than by throwing the ball to Waddle a whole lot in the opening minutes. Waddle has been easily Tagovailoa’s favorite target in the air ever since Tyreek Hill went down with his season-ending injury, and he’s played really well for Miami in recent weeks.

In every one of his last three appearances for the Dolphins, he’s tallied 80-plus receiving yards. If he manages to continue that streak into Sunday, Miami should be in a good position to pick up a win.

5. Stop the running game

For the lion’s share of this season, the Dolphins’ defense has been awful when it comes to limiting the running game, but it was flat-out fantastic at stopping the run against the Bills.

Not only were the Bills limited to just 87 rushing yards as a team in the contest, but the Dolphins also limited running back James Cook to merely 53 yards. For perspective, he’s averaging 102.2 rushing yards per game in his fourth season in the NFL.

While it’s too much to ask for Miami’s defensive unit to consistently shut down opposing rushing threats at the level it did against Buffalo, hopefully Sunday’s win marked a turning point in its ability to defend the run.

Like Buffalo, Washington likes to move the ball on the ground, and yet another strong defensive showing versus a great rushing offense would be quite impressive.

So long as the Dolphins manage to hold the Commanders to no more than 110 yards, their defensive unit will have done its job.