MIAMI — Imagine the sheer, and utter gall.

The supposed disrespect.

Your team is rallying from a possible loss, pulls within three points in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter and the opponent is facing a critical fourth-and-1 from the 49-yard line.

If your defense stops them, you’re in position to at least tie the score if the offense can produce one first down.

But if your defense fails to hold the line, win the war in the trenches on that one given play, the game is over because the opponent is closing out the game taking three straight kneel downs.

Are you taking that risk?

Miami Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley is, and did, putting Sunday’s 28-25 win over the New York Jets on the shoulders of his offensive line, which paved the way for quarterback Malik Willis to convert a first down on a tush push quarterback dive.

“It was everything,” left tackle Patrick Paul said. “He came up to us [the offensive line] when we had that timeout and asked us what do we want to do?”

Not whether they wanted to go for it, the first down, but how? What play should they run to gain that 1 yard?

“He trusted us,” Paul continued, “Trusted in us, and we executed.”

And that has been the case most of the season when it comes to Miami’s run blocking.

“There [was] no doubt in my mind I’d go for it,” Hafley said immediately after the game.

That’s easy to say when the outcome is in your favor, but all the bread crumbs Hafley has laid down — expressing what he wants his version of the Dolphins to be about, look like — backs up exactly what he did.

Hafley has vowed to build a physical team on offense and defense, and that pledge starts with building the team through the trenches.

“I talk about the toughness in the team, and what they are built on,” Hafley said, referring to Miami’s massive offensive line, which has four of the five starters bigger than 6-5, and collectively weighs more than 1,600 pounds. “Once we made the decision I knew we’d get it.”

Miami didn’t just gain 1 yard. Willis had a 2-yard run on that tush push, which was set up by Gordon gaining 21 yards on two of the three previous runs in that drive.

Gordon finished the game with 103 rushing yards on 25 carries, producing his second 100-plus rushing performance in the NFL, all of which has happened since he took over for De’Von Achane after he sustained his season-ending left knee injury last month.

Gordon has gained 339 rushing yards and scored four touchdowns on his 72 carries this season.

He’s on pace to rush for 960 yards if he remains on his current pace of 12 carries per game. But if we move that average up to his 17 carries a game since Achane was removed from the offense he’s on pace to gain 1,218 rushing yards if he can play in every game the rest of the season, and maintains his 4.7 yards per carry average.

As the season has progressed it has become obvious the backfield now belongs to the 2023 Doak Walker Award winner, and the offensive line has established itself as the alphas of the team.

“It shows trust. All our coaches, they definitely trust the O-line. I think their trust in me is starting to grow more each week,” Gordon said.. “That’s a great feeling to have whenever you feel your coaches and team can lean on you.”

Hafley acknowledged the playcalling has leaned into what Gordon does well, which is power runs, inside zone and gap scheme plays. Expect it to continue to evolve.

“He is everything this offense wanted to be. Ruthless, energetic, resilient. He runs hard,” Paul said. “He pops his [gums]. He talks after he runs. He just has that swagger to him and I feed off that.”

And clearly, so do the Dolphins offense.

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