Assessing the Biggest Weakness of Each 2016 NFL Playoff Team

Miami Dolphins: Rush Defense

If you're going on the road to face a team that sports a dude as bad as Le'Veon Bell, you're going to want a rock-solid rush defense to keep the beast in check. That's not a luxury the Miami Dolphins possess.

The Dolphins enter the playoffs ranked 29th against the rush, according to numberFire's metrics. The Pittsburgh Steelers are sixth on the offensive side, and they generally operate in a more efficient manner at home. There's a pretty obvious mismatch here, and it's not working in Miami's favor.

Perhaps what's worse for the Dolphins is this weakness is trending in the wrong direction.

In the nine games since their bye, the Dolphins have faced 203 carries by opposing running backs. Those have resulted in 0.07 Rushing NEP per carry and a 48.28% Success Rate, heavy deviations from the league-average marks of 0.00 and 40.85%. Facing Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown would be hard enough, but adding Bell's Gucciness to the equation could put the Dolphins in a huge hole this weekend.