Last Week:
Miami won the Bye Week with all AFC East teams losing
Raiders beat the Jets 16-12
Advantages:
QB: Dolphins
- Cornrow Tua or a rookie QB? Aiden O'Connell has been okay in his limited reps but Miami clearly has the advantage here. All three Raiders QBs have thrown a combined 14 interceptions this season which is Jameis Winston level high. Tua is still an MVP candidate and has a chance to really strengthen his resume in the next few games.
RB: Dolphins
- Josh Jacobs finally went off last week against the Jets but make no mistake, the Raiders rushing attack has been hot garbage for most of the season. Jacobs has 186 carries for 622 yards (3.3 per carry) on the season and the Raiders next leader in carries in Jimmy G with 20. Meanwhile for Miami, De'Von Achane returns and Raheem Mostert should be a little healthier coming out of the bye week.
WR: Dolphins
- This game features two of the top three wide receivers in football in Tyreek Hill and Davante Adams but the pieces around them favor Miami in this game. For the Raiders, their receiving core is fine thanks to guys like Jakobi Myers, who is having a very nice season racking up 463 yards and 5 touchdowns on 42 receptions (The Patriots could really use a guy like him tbh) but outside of Adams and Myers, there isn't much out there. Hunter Renfrow rarely gets the ball anymore (only 13 catches to this point) and the next featured player in the passing game is Josh Jacobs who has 30 receptions so far this year. For Miami, Waddle is finally starting to get healthy and I think he explodes the rest of the way. You are also getting River Cracraft back and Cedric Wilson has started to make some really good plays as of late.
TE: Raiders
- I was a huge Michael Mayer fan and was hopeful that he would make it to Miami's pick last April. The Raiders tight end unit of Mayer and Hooper has only contributed 313 yards and 1 touchdown this year which is more than the Dolphins 172 yards and 0 touchdowns. I don't know if Miami will have an advantage at tight end for the rest of the season honestly.
OL: Dolphins
- The Raiders offensive line is bad. Like really bad. And it could be even worse depending on if Kolton Miller and Dylan Parham don't play. Miami will be starting guard their 4th and 5th string guards on Sunday but Miami's line, thanks to Austin Jackson, Connor Williams, and Terron Armstead, give Miami the advantage here.
DL/EDGE: Dolphins
- Let me start by saying this, Maxx Crosby might be the best edge player in football or at least he is up there behind Myles Garrett. With that behind said, the Raiders starting defensive line features a bunch of NFL cast offs including John Jenkins (who Miami could really use for depth) and Adam Butler. Maxx Crosby has 9.5 sacks this year and the next closest Raider to him is Robert Spillane with 2 sacks. Miami just has more depth and talent here than the Raiders. Bradley Chubb is balling, Jaelen Phillips is finally healthy and balling, Wilkins and Sieler are both getting after the QB (4.5 and 4 sacks respectively), and AVG has 4 sacks.
LB: Push
- Man, I would be lying, badly, if I tried to tell you that the Steelers man a good choice not resigning Robert Spillane instead of Elandon Roberts. Robert Spillane is playing just as well as David Long this year. And the Raiders are getting just as much production out of Divine Deablo (Which as someone who grew up in Virginia and rooted for Virginia Tech is cool to see) as Miami is out of Jerome Baker. Don't sleep on the Raiders duo making a play or two this game.
CB: Dolphins
- Yeah this one is pretty easy. Jalen Ramsey and Xavien Howard finally played a game together and they played great. It will be interesting to see how the Dolphins decide to play Davante Adams this week but it is nice to know neither corner is on the injury report anymore.
S: Dolphins
- Fun story going into this game: Tre'von Moehrig was drafted right before Jevon Holland in the 2021 draft and Moehrig has become a really good player for the Raiders but Miami's duo is a better unit than what the Raiders have. Marcus Epps hasn't been great since coming over from Philly in the off-season.
Key Injuries
Two things can be true for Miami. One, they are getting healthy with the full return of Terron Armstead, Jalen Ramsey, De'Von Achane, Brandon Jones, Jaylen Waddle, and River Cracraft. Two, they still have an injury bug. Robert Jones and Robert Hunt appear to both be out this week (Great Scott! That's Liam Eichenberg's music!) while Braxton Berrios, Chase Claypool, Alec Ingold and Durham Smythe all did not practice Wednesday (Ingold and Smythe should on Thursday). Raheem Mostert practiced in a limited fashion but is dealing with an ankle AND knee injury.
For the Raiders, three key starters did not practice Wednesday. Kolton Miller, who missed Sunday's game against the Jets, did not practice with a shoulder injury while Dylan Parham also missed practice with a calf. With a QB who has already been sacked over 9% of his drop backs, the Raiders can't afford to miss any starters on an already bad offensive line. Lastly, Amik Robertson, perhaps their best corner, suffered a concussion Sunday night and is in danger of missing this game.
Key Story Lines/Keys to Victory
The biggest stories of this game come up front. Miami should and needs to win the line of scrimmage on defense. If Vegas can't run the ball, Miami will easily win this game. Getting them into passing situations will be key because the Raiders offensive line isn't good, even if Kolton Miller is playing. I think this will be a big week for Sieler and Wilkins inside. On offense, Austin Jackson has been phenomenal this season but this will be his biggest test yet. Maxx Crosby is that guy coming off the edge and if Austin Jackson is able to shut him down, I would say sign this man on the spot. Lester Cotton and Liam Eichenberg will be primarily against Adam Butler and John Jenkins, those two need to win their match ups because if they don't, Miami needs to go guard shopping in free agency because oh my.
The secondary is playing a QB who has only attempted 4 passes beyond 20 yards in his 3 starts BUT, you still have to fear what Davante Adams is going to do. Fortunately for Miami, they just so happen to have two stud corners to help with that. My biggest concern in the secondary is Jakobi Myers or Davante Adams in the slot vs Kader Kohuo. I love Kader, but he has really struggled this year, even in the slot, and if Myers or Adams end up there as the Raiders try to avoid Ramsey and Howard, look out.
Prediction:
Look, Miami has the better roster and it really isn't close to be honest. Miami's defense has been playing lights out recently and now they are playing a Raiders team that has allowed 25 sacks and has thrown 14 interceptions in 10 games. From an offensive standpoint, you are going to have a chance to make some huge plays this week but hopefully we see some legitimate consistency from this offense. Good think Kevin Harlan is on the call this week because you know that "HE'S GOT HILL" call is always right around the corner.
Dolphins 31 Raiders 17