3 Takeaways from Dolphins' Week 5 Win vs. Giants

The Miami Dolphins moved to 4-1 with a 31-16 win over the New York Giants on Sunday. It wasn't Miami's prettiest game of the season, but it wasn't the Dolphins' ugliest either.

A week after falling 48-20 to the Buffalo Bills, the Dolphins did more than enough to put away a scrappy Giants team. With Buffalo losing to the Jacksonville Jaguars in London on Sunday, Miami takes over first place in the AFC East.

Miami had some offensive miscues but generated enough big plays on both sides of the ball to win comfortably. Up next is another winnable game against the Struggling Carolina Panthers before a Week 7 showdown against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Here's what we learned during Miami's Week 5 win over New York.

Miami Has Become a Scary-Good Running Team

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Dolphins RB Raheem Mostert

Most of Miami's offensive struggles came from quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. He threw a pair of interceptions on Sunday, including one that was returned 102 yards for New York's only touchdown of the game.

Tagovailoa still finished with 308 passing yards and two touchdowns, but the Dolphins really took over the game with their running attack.

Raheem Mostert and rookie De'Von Achane combined for 222 yards and two touchdowns on only 21 carries. Their ability to generate big plays on the ground kept the Giants defense off-balance and opened up after-the-catch opportunities for Miami receivers.

Tagovailoa benefited heavily from having short passes turned into big gains by Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle and Cedric Wilson Jr.

The Dolphins attempted 30 passes against the Giants and rushed 23 times in total. It's become clear after five weeks that Miami has a very balanced offensive attack and can lean on the run when it needs to.

It's a big departure from where Miami was last season. The Dolphins ranked 13th in pass attempts and fourth in passing yards but only 31st in rushing attempts and 25th in rushing yards last season.

De'Von Achane Might Deserve OROY Consideration

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Dolphins RB De'Von Achane

Achane has been a huge catalyst behind Miami's rushing resurgence. The third-round pick out of Texas A&M has now recorded three straight games with 100 or more rushing yards. He didn't make his debut until Week 2 and has already racked up 460 rushing yards.

In all, Achane has 527 scrimmage yards, nine receptions and seven touchdowns. According to NFL Research, Achane has produced more total touchdowns than any player of the Super Bowl era through their first four career games.

Achane's combination of speed, vision and impact has been so impressive that it's time to start wondering if he can enter the conversation for Offensive Rookie of the Year.

Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud has played extremely well and is probably the front-runner due to his positional value. However, OROY isn't an automatic quarterback award, like the NFL's Most Valuable Player has become.

The last two winners, Garrett Wilson and Ja'Marr Chase, play wide receiver, and running back Saquon Barkley won the award in 2018. The Dolphins haven't had a player win Offensive Rookie of the Year since running back Troy Stradford did it in 1987.

It's early in the season, but Achane is on pace to give Miami another serious contender for the rookie award.

It's Looking Like a Two-Team Race in the AFC East

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Bills QB Josh Allen and Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa

Let's be honest, the Dolphins didn't learn a lot about themselves by beating up on a listless Giants team. Really, their blowout win is more of a reflection of where Miami stands in the grand scheme of things.

The Dolphins have outlasted the Los Angeles Chargers and New England Patriots and dominated the Denver Broncos and Giants. They're clearly a top-tier AFC team and have only really been challenged by Buffalo.

The Bills do match up well with Miami, and that's clearly an obstacle in the Dolphins' bid for their first AFC East title since 2008. However, it's also clear that Buffalo is the only real obstacle that the Dolphins will have to overcome.

The New York Jets continue to struggle offensively without Aaron Rodgers, and the Patriots are somehow even worse. New York has enough talent to remain relevant, but they're not as complete a team as Buffalo. The Patriots, at 1-4, are all but done for the season.

There's a very good chance that the divisional race will be decided in Week 18, when the Dolphins play host in their rematch with the Bills. The trick to setting up a de facto division title game, though, will be continuing to handle lesser teams like the Giants.