Danger comes in all shapes, types and forms, especially in the game of football. The Miami Dolphins are dangerous.
Sure, they have more losses than wins through 13 games, but there are so few teams in the league that are built like they are, especially on offense.
Speed kills, or so the old adage goes. They have speed EVERYWHERE on offense and when I say speed, I mean freakin' TRACK SPEED. Tyreek, Jaylen, Devon and Raheem could be a 4x100 meter relay team in any professional track meet overseas. Rookie RB Jaylen Wright was a track star in high school and there's a small chance that he's the slowest offensive skill player on the team.
Now, it's not like they're slow on defense. Rookie DE Chop Robinson is as explosive off the edge as any young player in the league. CB Jalen Ramsey can still run with anyone in a Deep Steel Blue jersey. S Jevon Holland is one of the speediest safeties in football and covers ground with the best of them.
So, yeah, the speed makes them dangerous and the consistency and efficiency of QB Tua Tagovailoa makes the Dolphins the type of opponent that no one wants to play in the month of December, especially in a controlled, indoor environment. As such, the Texans face this dangerous team on Sunday afternoon with SO MUCH at stake. In short, a Texans win, combined with a Colts loss, clinches the Division title.
But this Dolphins team is one of the toughest outs on the 2024 Texans schedule.
The bye week has come and gone and the stark reality of the Texans season will hit them square in the face on Sunday: this Miami team is FREAKIN' good and that has everyone on high alert…or they better be. Either way, let's get to Know the Texans' dangerous Week 15 Foe - the Miami Dolphins.
Miami Dolphins 2024 Schedule (6-7)
Week 1 - W Jacksonville Jaguars 20-17
Week 2 - L Buffalo Bills 31-10
Week 3 - L @ Seattle Seahawks 24-3
Week 4 - L Tennessee Titans 31-12
Week 5 - W New England Patriots 15-10
Week 6 - BYE
Week 7 - L @ Indianapolis Colts 16-10
Week 8 - L Arizona Cardinals 28-27
Week 9 - L @ Buffalo Bills 30-27
Week 10 - W @ Los Angeles Rams 23-15
Week 11 - W Las Vegas Raiders 34-19
Week 12 - W New England Patriots 34-15
Week 13 - L @ Green Bay Packers 30-17
Week 14 - W New York Jets 32-26
Week 15 - @ Houston Texans
Week 16 - San Francisco 49ers
Week 17 - @ Cleveland Browns
Week 18 - @ New York Jets
Dolphins OFFENSE (in 2024 regular season)
Rushing Yards Per game - 105.2 ypg (24th in the NFL)
Passing Yards Per game - 226.5 ypg (14th)
Total offense per game - 331.8 ypg (19th)
Turnovers lost - 13 (5 INT, 8 Fumbles lost)
Expected Dolphins starting offense for Week 15
QB - Tua Tagovailoa
RB - Devon Achane OR Raheem Mostert OR JAYLEN WRIGHT
FB - Alec Ingold
WR - Tyreek Hill
WR - Jaylen Waddle
TE - JONNU SMITH
LT - Terron Armstead
LG - Robert Jones
C - AARON BREWER
RG - Liam Eichenberg
RT - Kendall Lamm
Other Key Offensive pieces
WR - MALIK WASHINGTON
WR - ODELL BECKHAM JR
OT - PATRICK PAUL
OG - Isaiah Wynn
TE - Julian Hill
TE - Durham Smythe
Italics - Rookie
ALL CAPS - New to team in 2024
Keys to winning v. the Dolphins Offense
- Tua's BACK- Tagovailoa is smoking hot. He missed four games with a concussion suffered in Week 2 against Buffalo. Since returning, he's not had one game with less than a 70% completion rate. He had two games of 80+%, including an amazing 25 of 28, 231 yards, one TD performance at Buffalo against one of the hottest teams in the league. He's thrown 15 TDs to one INT in those last seven starts since he returned. Even in the cold of Green Bay on Thanksgiving night, he completed 80.4% of his passes for 365 yards and two TD, no INT. The KEY to this entire game is disrupting Tua's rhythm, something the last seven teams haven't had the slightest idea how to do. When Tua's in rhythm, throwing on time, the Miami offense is unstoppable and Tua is a top four QB in the league, at a minimum. But, forcing him to re-cock his arm, get to his second and/or third read behind a shaky OL could produce the results the Texans defense KNOWS it has to have on Sunday.
- "F it, Tyreek's down there somewhere"- When the Dolphins came to Houston in the summer of 2023 for a joint practice session against the Texans, I kept chuckling as I watched the Dolphins offense because it was the Tale of Two Units. One had Tyreek Hill on the field. The other did not. Guess which one was the scariest of the two units. Fellow speedster WR Jaylen Waddle wasn't practicing due to an injury so Tua was locked into Tyreek no matter where he was on the field. A couple of times during the team periods, I swear Tua just threw deep to a spot where he thought Tyreek might eventually end up. As the old saying goes, "F it, Tyreek is down there somewhere." The problem for the Texans was that he was, and caught them all, even if it took the great receiver just running downfield, adjusting to one of Tua's launch code bombs. Tyreek's numbers dipped when Tua was injured but since Tua returned, Tyreek returned too. With all of the explosive plays the Texans have given up this year, the presence of Tyreek as a catch-and-run threat or a chunk play waiting to happen concerns everyone in deep steel blue.
- Exploit the Exploitable- Now, it's not as if the Texans offensive line has been a beacon of consistency in the 2024 season, but the Dolphins offensive line does not invoke fear from its opponents. Tua doesn't take a ton of sacks because he gets rid of the ball as fast as any QB in the NFL. He's only been sacked 18 times this year in nine games but that number is low, not because he's getting great protection, but his top notch decision-making. Star LT Terrron Armstead left last week's game with an injury and has been in and out the past few years for injury reaons. RT Kendall Lamm has been a backup most of his career. The Dolphins haven't ably replaced Robert Hunt at one guard position. The Texans DL may be as healthy as at any point in the year so this is a prime opportunity to frustrate this OL, Tua and this offense by getting quick penetration and physically taking over the game up front.
Dolphins DEFENSE (in 2024 regular season)
Rushing Yards Allowed Per game - 105.6 ypg (7th in the NFL)
Passing Yards Allowed Per game - 212.8 ypg (11th)
Total offense Allowed per game - 318.4 ypg (9th)
Turnovers generated - 11 (7 INT, 4 fumbles recovered, Dolphins are -2 in TO margin)
Expected Dolphins starting defense for Week 15
OLB - EMMANUEL OGBAH
DT - Zach Sieler
DT - Benito Jones
DE - CALAIS CAMPBELL
LB - ANTHONY WALKER JR.
LG - JORDYN BROOKS
Nickel - Kadar Kohou
CB - Jalen Ramsey
S - Jevon Holland
S - JORDAN POYER
CB - Kendall Fuller
Other Key Defensive pieces
DE/OLB - CHOP ROBINSON
DT - DA'SHAWN HAND
DT - NEIL FARRELL
LB - Duke Riley
LB - Quinton Bell
LB - TYREL DODSON
Italics - Rookie
ALL CAPS - New to team in 2024
Keys to winning v. the Dolphins Defense
- The Lone Ranger- During the 2023 season, HBO Max's Hard Knocks focused on the brother-like friendship of DTs Christian Wilkins and Zach Sieler. But, this past offseason, Wilkins was offered MEGA dollars in Las Vegas and he took them all, leaving his South Beach buddy behind. But Sieler has learned to live without his pal and, at the same time, is playing as impressively as anyone in the aqua and orange. He finished last week's game with two sacks of Jets QB Aaron Rodgers and it led to AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors. He's powerful, but agile, tough and slippery to block. He's long and athletic. With Texans IOL Juice Scruggs banged up, the Texans offensive interior is going to have its hands full with Sieler, playing the best ball of his career.
- Traveler's Check- It's been nine years of facing confident, bordering on cocky, Dolphins CB Jalen Ramsey. When he was in Jacksonville, his battles with former Texans star WR DeAndre Hopkins were legendary until Ramsey was traded to the LA Rams. So after being traded to Miami in 2023, this will be the third team for which Ramsey has starred and not much has changed. He's CB1 in Miami, verbally and physically combative and typically traveling with the best receiver on the other side. Now, does that mean he'll travel with Texans star WR Nico Collins? I'm guessing yes and that's going to be worth the price of admission. They're both taller than 6-2, long, physical and competitive at the catch point. I don't imagine that Ramsey will get help with Nico, so the Texans should still get some effective targets to Nico with which he can succeed. I'd love to see Nico get some catch-and-run opps and use his big body to frustrate Ramsey after the catch as well. We'll see if Dolphins DC Anthony Weaver sticks with the traveling approach throughout the game.
- Chop THIS!- I haven't gone back to check how many times I've used the word "speed" in this article, but I'm going to do it one more time…and maybe three. The reason? Dolphins rookie edge rusher Chop Robinson. When Commissioner Goodell said the words "With the 21st pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Miami Dolphins select Chop Robinson", it all made sense. Dolphins star DE Jaelen Phillips and Bradley Chubb had been lost during the 2023 season to injuries (Phillips again in 2024). The Dolphins had brought back 30+ year olds just to line up and play, much less make a play last season. Then, it hit me - oh man, he's the defense's version of Tyreek Hill - a little shorter, a little smaller but he'll ALWAYS be a threat because??? Speed. He has bounce and twitch off the snap and players with those key assets have given the Texans offensive line some issues this year. He JUMPS off the ball and can ferociously get into a pass protector's body, giving Robinson the ability to dictate his pass rush, not be directed away from the QB. Texans OTs Tytus Howard and Laremy Tunsil have their hands full with Chop Young Bull, his X/Instagram nickname that fits perfectly. I don't want this to be Robinson's true coming out party ten days before XMAS.
