Game Overview ::
By Mike johnson >>
- After a terrible start to the season, Miami has won six of its last nine games and has been competing at a high level in most weeks.
- Rookie quarterback Quinn Ewers will start for the third game in a row for the Dolphins.
- New England has an outside shot at the #1 seed and will know prior to kickoff of their game if they need to win to hold onto the #2 seed in the AFC.
- Patriots WR Stefon Diggs and DT Christian Barmore have each had legal issues in the news this week, but no suspension for either seems imminent.
- The first meeting between these teams was back in Week 2 in Miami, with the Patriots winning a 33-27 game that had four lead changes.
JM’S JOURNAL ::
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How miami Will Try To Win ::
The Dolphins are coming off an inspired victory over the Buccaneers in which their defense showed up and played well while their offense made a couple of big plays to build a lead and was able to play a methodical, ball-control offense the rest of the way as they maintained their lead and pulled off the upset. The team has had two starts with rookie QB Quinn Ewers under center and got dusted by the Bengals in the first one before last week’s performance at home against the Bucs. This week, they face one of the top teams in the NFL on the road while dealing with injuries across their roster. The Dolphins have historically struggled the last few years in cold weather games, and much of that has been blamed on QB Tua Tagovailoa’s skill set and lack of arm strength and running ability, but really, the entire Dolphins team is not built in a way that suits these cold weather games and this is likely to be another tough spot for them.
Star running back De’Von Achane missed practice all week and was deemed a “game-time decision” for Sunday due to a shoulder injury. Logic tells us that the team won’t put him on the field in this spot with their season coming to a close. The Dolphins also placed tight end Darren Waller on injured reserve on Friday, while wide receiver Jaylen Waddle was limited all week with a rib injury that held him out of much of last week’s game against the Bucs. The Dolphins ran the ball 30 times compared to only 22 passes from Ewers last week as they were able to control things. They will undoubtedly try to lean on their running game again this week, and Jaylen Wright will likely be their feature back in a very tough matchup. Assuming Achane, Waller, and potentially Waddle are out, that will leave their passing game to center around wide receivers Malik Washington and Cedrick Wilson, along with tight ends Greg Dulcich and Julian Hill. Dulcich was targeted six times on only 20 snaps last week and is a clear favorite target for Ewers. Expect him and Washington to be the primary receiving options in this one, especially without Achane on the field to take a large portion of the targets.
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