The Miami Dolphins are back at home at Hard Rock Stadium under the lights on Monday to take on the Tennessee Titans as they inch closer to the AFC East title.
Last Week:
Miami beat Washington 45-15
Tennessee lost to Indianapolis 31-28
Advantages:
QB: Dolphins
- Despite what people on social media may say, Tua Tagovailoa is playing at an MVP level this season and it isn't just because he has Tyreek Hill, it's because hes just really freakin good! Tua played one of his best games last week against Washington and will look to do that again against a struggling Titans defense. This will be the first time that the Dolphins will see Will Levis who has absolutely had some flashes this season but had a completion percentage under 50% last week against the Colts. Now Levis' will be going against one of the best defenses in football.
- All hail King Henry. I know Henry doesn't have the stats that Mostert does but that is more on the Titans offensive line and weapons around Henry because the man is still that guy. And we can't discount Tyjae Spears who is having a nice rookie year as a change of pace back. Miami's main focus for Sunday needs to be stopping these two backs. Meanwhile Miami saw the return of RB2/WR3 De'Von Achane who only produced 100+ yards and 2 touchdowns in his return on Sunday to go along with Raheem Mostert's NFL leading 14th touchdown so that's fun.
WR: Dolphins
- The Titan's have Deandre Hopkins, who has 774 yards, and then a bunch of guys who probably wouldn't be starting on many other NFL teams. Treylon Burks has been a huge disappointment and the Titans second leading receiver is tight end Chig Okonkwo at 313 yards. Meanwhile the Dolphins have Tyreek Hill who is well on his way to 2k receiving yards and Jaylen Waddle who struggled with a case of the drops last week.
TE: Titans
- Wash, rinse, repeat. Chig Okonkwo is a good tight end for the Titans who does an okay job of blocking. Still, I can't give Miami the edge here because while Smythe and Hill have had nice moments, neither one of them are true impact players outside of the run game where Smythe has been fine.
OL: Dolphins
- The Dolphins are ravaged by injuries on the offensive line, again, and still will have a better line on Monday than the Titans BUT, the Titans line had been playing better as of late until the Colts were able to log 6 sacks on the Titans. Rookie Jaelyn Duncan has done well since taking the tackle job from highly paid Andre Dillard and fellow rookie Peter Skoronski has done a good job when he's been healthy but the rest of the line? Oof. Now there is a good chance that Miami will be playing this game without both Terron Armstead and Robert Hunt who were injured against Washington on Sunday but Miami should be okay if that is the case. Kendall Lamm should be able to go this week and if not, Kion Smith has done really well for a 3rd tackle. I hope that we see Rob Jones back this week as Lester Cotton continues to struggle. But how about Liam Eichenberg? Liam has been rock solid the past few weeks and while there are moments he gets walked back, overall he's done a really good job as of late. And of course, big shout out to Austin Jackson for signing a contract extension after the season he has had. Dude has been BALLING all year long.
DL/EDGE: Dolphins
- Miami has the edge here (Ba dum tst!) especially now that Jeffery Simmons will not play in this football game. That's not to say that the Titans don't have talent on the edge and their defensive line because they do. Denico Autry has been a game wrecker this year recording 9 sacks so far while Harold Landry, who is still coming back from his ACL tear, has 5.5 sacks this season. Miami just has more talent in their front with Wilkins, Sieler, and Chubb all having 6.5 sacks to go along with Ogbah's 4.5 sacks and AVG's 4 sacks.
LB: Dolphins
- David Long revenge game? We can only hope as Long had his worst game in awhile against the Commanders on Sunday. This would be a push with Jerome out as Azeez Al-Shaair has had a strong season for the Titans but Duke Riley's play on Sunday was spectacular and if he plays like that on Monday, Miami is going to have the clear advantage. Also, we love revenge games so watch David Long to make some big hits early.
CB: Dolphins
- Sean Murphy-Bunting and Kristian Fulton are fine NFL players but they aren't on the level of Jalen Ramsey and Xavien Howard who each are playing phenomenal right now. Pair that with Kader Kohou who has really stepped up his play since the start of the season now that he is back in the nickle, Miami has a big advantage here. Oh yeah, the Titans corners have to try to cover Tyreek Hill too.
S: Dolphins
- If Kevin Byard were here we might be able to have a conversation but since he isn't, a clear advantage for Miami. Jevon Holland hopefully will be back this week and DeShon Elliott has played really well despite not creating turnovers.
Key Injuries
Miami is still, once again, a very banged up football team. We talked about the OL injuries but once again, there are major questions around Terron Armstead, Kendall Lamm, and Robert Hunt's availability this week against the Titans. Jerome Baker will not play in this game but luckily his injury isn't bad enough to go on injured reserve. And Jevon Holland is still questionable as he returns from his knee(s) injury. Other than that, Miami is relatively healthy. Yeah, Miami will probably have a bunch of dudes on the injury report who are listed as limited BUT, if you get treated for ANYTHING during the week you go on the injury report so.
Tennessee will take on this Dolphins offense without their best player, Jeffery Simmons, best corner, Kristian Fulton and stud punter, Ryan Stonehouse. All three of those players are MASSIVE losses for the Titans (yes even Stonehouse, dude is a stud). Derrick Henry is somehow not in concussion protocol after taking a nasty hit last week against the Colts so Miami will see plenty of the King on Monday night.
Key Story Lines/Keys to Victory
There are two big offensive story lines/keys to victory that I will be watching for in this game. First, can the offense have another clean day? Miami only has two games this year where they did not turn the ball over, Denver and Washington. Conveniently, Miami scored a combined 115 points in those two games. Is that the expectation for this game? No. The Titans defense is pretty solid overall so I'm not expecting a 40+ game for the offense but Miami having another clean game in December would be another great step.
The Titan's defense is better than their offense which isn't surprising considering the fact that the Titans are starting a rookie QB with no weapons outside of Hopkins. The defense, while it is better, is middle in the pact in basically every category except for their redzone defense and their TDs allowed per game. Now, Gardner Minshew and the Colts just roasted the Titans defense last week with both Michael Pittman and Alec Pierce going over 100 yards. Just think about what Tyreek and Waddle can do to this defense on Monday. It all comes down to playing a clean game for Miami.
The Dolphins defense has two players they need to key on, Derrick Henry and DeAndre Hopkins. Let the rest of the Titans offense try to beat you because Miami has a clear talent advantage.
 |
| Defensive comparison on left, Offense on right |
Prediction:
Miami is the more talented team and they are a different team when they are at home but I do think this game is closer than the Washington game. I think that the Dolphins banged up line backing core lets Derrick Henry get one and then the Titans score one in garbage time but Miami dominates this game behind another stellar performance from the offense.
Dolphins 38 Titans 17