How important is this week’s game for the Miami Dolphins? Critical.

Does that mean they need to win? Maybe, maybe not. It all depends on how the team chooses

to approach it.

The Dolphins should easily be favored in each of their next five games after this Sunday’s home

contest against the Minnesota Vikings, in which they were home underdogs even before the

news broke that third stringer Skylar Thompson would be getting the start at quarterback.

Miami’s best running back this season, Raheem Mostert, has been limited all week with an

injury. Superstars Tyreek Hill and Xavien Howard are still recovering from their injuries, but are

trending towards playing. Pro Bowl offensive tackle Terron Armstead? It’s anyone’s guess

whether he suits up for this one.

Doesn’t it kind of feel like a good week to rest everybody?

Honestly, that second approach should have been taken two weeks ago. Thursday Night

Football is always a brutal turnaround, but was particularly so after that Buffalo game. Everyone

that was nicked up should have been rested then. Miami is very likely 4-1 right now, with a very

different narrative around them, if they had done so. That’s probably true even if everything that

happened with Tua Tagovailoa still happened just as it did, and only the rest of Miami’s injured

stars were rested.

Unfortunately, they didn’t, and this is the bed Miami has made. Head coach Mike McDaniel has

indicated that Skylar getting a full week of practice gives the team the best chance to win, and

that makes sense to a degree. However, it makes a lot more sense if you bear in mind that the

Dolphins head coach probably can’t come out and publicly say we’re just going through the

motions until Week 7. Load management is catching on in the NFL, but we’re not quite at that

NBA level of grudging acceptance yet. All the same, it’s hard to believe that McDaniel really

believes Thompson gives Miami the best chance to win this Sunday. That decision is instead

mostly about Bridgewater’s health, and a little bit about concussion optics.

All of that being said, there is a football game about to be played, and the players on the field

will be trying their best to win it. So how might that happen?

Turnovers were huge last week, between fumbles, picks, and turnovers on downs. Cleaning up

the mistakes will be vital, as it’s hard to see Miami being able to overcome anything less than a

perfect game in this one. At the other end of the turnover spectrum, this would be a great time

for Miami’s defense to recapture that takeaway magic from the last two seasons. With the

offense almost certain to be less explosive, a defensive score and/or some short fields would go

a long way to closing the gap. Key to that, not to mention keeping Justin Jefferson in check,

would be a healthy Xavien Howard. It’s hard to see Miami winning Sunday without the defense

turning in a dominant performance, and that isn’t happening without Howard.

Prediction? Miami tries to win, but not every banged up star plays, leaving them without enough

firepower to keep pace or keep Minnesota’s offense off the field enough to rest the defense.

Hopefully it only costs them a game, and not more injuries.

Vikings 27, Dolphins 17.