The Miami Dolphins will take their four-game winning streak into their game against the Los Angeles Chargers at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday.
The Dolphins (5-3) are coming off a thrilling 34-31 victory against the Arizona Cardinals, while the Chargers are coming off a disappointing 31-26 loss against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Here are different ways this game could play out:
The Dolphins will win because ...
-- Tua Tagovailoa will show that his performance against Arizona was just the beginning of something bigger.
-- Tagovailoa will have a big game in part because the Chargers won't be able to mount much of a pass rush with Joey Bosa missing the game because of a concussion.
-- Antonio Callaway will come up with a long gain or two in his first game with the Dolphins.
-- Running back Salvon Ahmed will build on this strong NFL debut and break a long run for a touchdown.
-- The Dolphins will harass Justin Herbert the way they did to Jared Goff when they face the Los Angeles Rams and confuse him with different looks at the line of scrimmage.
-- Herbert will put up big passing numbers as he had more often than not as a rookie, but the Dolphins will come up with a couple of key picks.
-- The Dolphins will stuff Kalen Ballage in his new role as Chargers lead back.
-- The Dolphins special teams once again will make a difference.
The Dolphins will lose because ...
-- Chargers defensive end Melvin Ingram will break through with his first sack of the season and make a game-changing play or two.
-- Tua is going to take a step back after his big game against Arizona and throw his first NFL interception.
-- The Dolphins running game will not be able to get anything going, making the offense one-dimensional.
-- The Dolphins will come out a bit flat after their big victory against Arizona.
-- Herbert will come up with big passing numbers again and play a turnover-free game.
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-- The game will come down to the last seconds, but the Chargers will find a way this time to make the play to win instead of lose.
What actually will happen ...
We ended the first half of the season with a 6-2 record in picking Dolphins games this season after incorrectly predicting a loss against the Cardinals last week.
This is another tough game to call because the records are misleading. Yes, the Chargers are 2-6, but they easily could be 6-2 or even 7-1 with just a few plays here and there going the other way.
As proof, the Dolphins are either 1- or 1 1/2-point favorites, depending on the oddsmaker, which is unusual considering the four-win gap between the teams.
The truth is the Chargers have a lot of talent, though they've been beset by key injuries again and the obvious inability to close out games. The Chargers will face the Dolphins without Joey Bosa, as well as All-Pro safety Derwin James, starting running back Austin Ekeler and former Dolphins center Mike Pouncey.
The Chargers still have a lot of talent on offense with rookie quarterback Justin Herbert and a good group of receivers in Keenan Allen, Mike Williams and tight end Hunter Henry.
The defense has been spotty this year, particularly with the habit of slowing down after the team takes a big lead.
In the end, though, the Chargers always seem to find themselves in games that come down to the end, so who's to say it doesn't happen again this week.
The bottom line is the Dolphins certainly appear to have a more well-rounded team than the Chargers, but at some point the Chargers are going to figure out how to pull out a close game.
The Dolphins, on the other hand, were outgained in each of their past two games, but rode takeaways to victories against the Rams and the Cardinals.
Let's face it, the Dolphins aren't going to score a defensive touchdown every week. Are they?
Just call it a gut feeling, but it says here the Dolphins winning streak ends at four.
Chargers, 27, Dolphins 24
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November 15, 2020 at 05:30AM
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Why the Dolphins Will Defeat the Chargers, Why They Will Lose, And What's Actually Going to Happen - DolphinMaven
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