The Dolphins travel to London, and this time they face the Oakland Raiders, for the first time since 2o12. The last time these two teams met, Ryan Tannehill threw his first NFL touchdown pass, ran for another and avoided any turnovers as he notched his first professional win as an NFL QB. Both teams are coming off tough losses as this looks to be a pivotal match-up for both squads. The Dolphins are in the midst of controversy that isn’t a controversy. Earlier in the week, head coach Joe Philbin created a national whirlwind as he refused to publicly say that Tannehill would start. Instead he sidestepped the question and gave a Belichick type answer, by just saying the best “46 players” would play.
DOLPHINS ON OFFENSE
The biggest key offensively should be going to the run game and sticking with the game. The Dolphins currently rank ninth in rushing and Lamar Miller is averaging a whopping 5.8 YPC which is the fifth best but only has 37 carried which is tied for 19th best overall. The passing game led by Ryan Tannehill is one of the worst thus far ranking 30th. This is huge game for Tannehill, who has played poorly four out of his last five games and could sorely use a big time performance to put to rest any hint that a QB change is needed. Lamar Miller doesn’t have a TD rushing the football, but look for offensive coordinator to keep feeding him to increase his chances of finding a crease and taking it for six.
DOLPHINS ON DEFENSE
The Dolphins have consistently stayed in the top in scoring Defense the last couple years, but heading into this game they currently rank 27th. Part of this is due to lack of forced turnovers, injuries to their linebackers, and the offense not being able to sustain drives forcing the defense to battle long drives by opposing teams. Luckily they face a Raiders team which ranks dead last in points scored at 12.3 , 30th in passing offense and 31st in rushing offense.
DOLPHINS ON SPECIAL TEAMS
Normally, a reliable unit on this team over the last couple of years, the Dolphins currently rank dead last in return coverage. This has been a crucial part in recent games as they have been on the losing end of the field position battle. Rookie Jarvis Landry has been handling both Kickoff and Punt returning duties has been up and down. He has shown a habit of poor judgement of fielding punts inside the ten yard line. Look for the re-signing of Thigpen to the practice squad to push Landry to play and perform better on special teams. The punt unit, led by Brandon Fields, bounced back with a solid performance against the Chiefs after having one of his worst games against the Bills. Kicker Caleb Sturgis is currently 7 for 8 on field goals this year.
SCORE PREDICTION
This game is crucial for the Dolphins. It’s a must win. Things could snowball really fast if they go into the bye week 1-3 and on a three game losing streak. Fortunately, that wont be happening this week. Look for a solid performance by Ryan Tannehill as he silences his critics at least for one week. It might be where the deep ball, a feature we haven’t seen in awhile, comes alive. In the words of late Raiders owner Al Davis, time to turn the tables: “JUST WIN BABY.” DOLPHINS 24, RAIDERS 13
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