A pair of AFC teams on opposite sides of the country and the playoff picture take the field in the Mile High City. The Miami Dolphins look to maintain their momentum as they head out west to face the Denver Broncos Sunday afternoon. Miami comes in off a 29-21 home victory over the Chargers last Sunday in their previous game. Denver was walloped 37-12 on the road by the Raiders in their previous contest last Sunday. The Dolphins own a 12-5-1 edge in the all-time regular-season series between the teams, including a 35-9 home victory in the most recent matchup on December 3, 2017.
Miami Dolphins Seek Sixth Straight Victory
Miami rung up their fifth straight win overall and their third straight with rookie quarterback Tua Tagovailoa running the offense as they beat the Chargers at home. The Dolphins look to make it six in a row and pull into a tie for the top spot in the AFC East with the Bills, though Buffalo owns the tie-breaker based on their head-to-head win in week two. Miami jumped to a 14-0 lead after one quarter on the Chargers and didn’t let Los Angeles get back in the game. The Dolphins saw their lead trimmed to 17-14 midway through the third quarter before reeling off 12 unanswered points and not allowing the Chargers to score again until under two minutes remained. Miami held a narrow 280-273 edge in total offense and held a 30:06 to 29:54 advantage in time of possession. The Dolphins also blocked a punt to help offset losing the first down battle 19-17. Both teams turned the ball over once in the contest.
We love this movie 🍿
Check out @Tua‘s best throws from yesterday’s game! pic.twitter.com/70gyXDLdX8
— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) November 16, 2020
Miami enters this game 26th in the league in passing offense as they average 218.6 yards per contest this season. The Dolphins are just 28th in rushing offense as they average 98.7 yards per game on the ground. Miami is ninth in the league in scoring offense as they put up 27.8 points per game. The Dolphins are fifth in scoring defense as they give up an average of 20.2 points a contest. Ryan Fitzpatrick is 138 of 197 passing for 1,535 yards with 10 touchdowns and seven interceptions while adding 135 yards plus two scores on the ground this season. Tagovailoa is 49 of 77 for 519 yards with five touchdowns against no interceptions while adding 34 yards on the ground. The run game has been problematic as Myles Gaskin is the leading rusher with 100 carries for 387 yards plus two scores. Matt Breida (37 carries, 128 yards) and Savion Ahmed (28 carries, 123 yards, TD) are likely to share the load with Gaskin on injured reserve. In the passing game, DeVante Parker leads the team with 38 catches for 462 yards and three scores this season. Tight end Mike Gesicki (24 receptions, 371 yards, two TD), the injured Preston Williams (18 grabs, 288 yards, four TD) and Jakeem Grant (22 catches, 229 yards, TD) are the other players with at least 200 receiving yards this season.
The Dolphins have struggled with the run game this season but this is a game that could work for Miami to break out with the run. This season, Miami has been held to 3.8 yards or less per carry in six of their nine games and has yet to run for more than 138 yards in a game. Denver has been gashed for at least 4.6 yards per carry in six of their games and has allowed more than 200 yards on the ground in two of their last three games. The Dolphins would be well suited to pound the ball and force the Broncos to load the box in order to help open up some passing lanes for Tagovailoa to utilize.
Denver Broncos Look to Pull Upset
Denver was flattened on the road by the Raiders in an AFC West battle last week as they suffered their second straight defeat. The Broncos are hoping to bounce back and deliver a victory in this contest. We’ve seen them pull off upsets before as they went into Foxborough and knocked off New England back on October 18. Against the Raiders, Denver’s struggles with stopping the run ended up hurting them once again. The Broncos gave up the game’s opening touchdown and couldn’t draw closer than a one-point margin at 7-6 midway through the second quarter. Denver then gave up 23 unanswered points to fall behind 30-6 and the rout was on. The Broncos were outgained 357-313 in total offense in the contest, gave up 21 first downs while picking up 20 and lost the time of possession by a 36:38 to 23:22 margin. Denver turned the ball over five times while failing to record a takeaway. While the turnovers led to just 10 points, there was a back-breaking interception at the goal line in the final seconds of the first half, taking points off the board for the Broncos.
Too many mistakes led to today’s loss.
Recapping #DENvsLV ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/8gnSewNxpz
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) November 16, 2020
The Broncos come into this contest 23rd in the league in passing offense as they average 227.4 yards per contest through the air this season. Denver is 19th in rushing offense as they grind out 106.6 yards per game on the ground this season. The Broncos stand 28th in scoring offense as they put up an average of 20.7 points per contest this year. Denver is 27th in scoring defense as they allow an average of 28.2 points per game. ‘
Drew Lock has completed 131 of 238 passes for 1,497 yards with seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions while adding 65 yards and two scores on the ground. He’s expected to play in this game coming off a ribs injury. Jeff Driskel (35 of 64, 432 yards, three TD, two INT) and Brett Rypien (27 of 40, 295 yards, two TD, four INT) have seen work as well. The run game has been a roughly 65:35 split between Melvin Gordon III (107 carries, 439 yards, four TD) and Philip Lindsay (57 carries, 312 yards, TD) this season. One would think that Lindsay would get more work. In the passing game, rookie Jerry Jeudy leads the team with 34 receptions for 552 yards and two scores this season. Tim Patrick (31 catches, 444 yards, three TD), Noah Fant (35 grabs, 367 yards, two TD) and KJ Hamler (21 catches, 240 yards, TD) each have at least 200 receiving yards on the season.
Denver has a good duo in the ground game and they are facing a Miami defense that isn’t overly impressive this season. The Dolphins are 22nd in rush defense by allowing 122.1 yards per game and stand 26th by allowing 4.7 yards per carry. Denver does have to curtail their turnovers, which could be an issue seeing that Miami has generated 15 takeaways this season, third in the league. The Broncos have turned the ball over at least once in every game this season and have totaled 21 giveaways this season. That’s something that they have to avoid against an opportunistic Dolphins’ defense.
