This Sunday Must Win For Dolphins...If They Try To Win
This Sunday Must Win For Dolphins...If They Try To Win
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?
Falling to 3-3 would obviously be a blow after a 3-0 start to the season. You can easily argue that the time to rest players is one of those softer spots on the schedule up ahead, and not this game against a tough Vikings team. In fact, I’m sure the Dolphins will avail themselves of that choice at some point during that stretch. There’s also the fact that a big part of this team’s identity, at least on the defensive side, boils down to playing through pain whenever possible and doing whatever it takes. Players have said as much this year.
Still, with all due respect to the future star that is Skylar Thompson, the third string quarterback is playing. And all of these injuries that players are dealing with are the type that are easily reaggravated, and for which simple rest is the best medicine. These injuries already have vastly impacted the season, and can easily continue to do so. So as much as that third straight loss might sting, it could be the best medicine for success in 2022.
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.