After a bye week off, the Texans (8-5) are back in action this Sunday in Houston. They'll host the Dolphins (6-7) to start the final 4-game stretch of the regular season. Here are five things to watch when the two clubs kick off at noon CT inside NRG Stadium.
1) Mixon it up – Running back Joe Mixon has been fantastic for the Texans this season. He and Philadelphia's Saquon Barkley are the only players in the NFL who've rushed for 100 yards or more and run for a touchdown in seven games this year.
Mixon's averaging 88.7 rushing yards per game, has run for 11 touchdowns, and he's also caught a scoring pass this year as well.
The Dolphins defense, meanwhile, has not allowed a player to rush for more than 100 yards in a game this season, and they're seventh in the NFL in rushing yards allowed per game, with 105.6.
Miami Defensive Coordinator—and former Texans player and coach—Anthony Weaver, is very familiar with Mixon after coaching against the former Bengal when he was an assistant in Baltimore.
"Unfortunately had to play against him the last three years, two in the AFC North," Weaver said. "(He's) a back that I don't think really gets enough credit throughout the league. Can run with physicality, is great out of the backfield. He tries to punish DBs on the second level which I respect from a back."
The Texans were victorious in five of those seven games Mixon went for more than 100 yards and a touchdown.
2) Nico vs. Ramsey – Wide receiver Nico Collins leads the NFL with 104 receiving yards per game. There's a very good chance the Dolphins will have cornerback Jalen Ramsey cover Collins exclusively in the game.
The All-Pro corner was a Ram from 2019 through 2023, and Texans Offensive Coordinator Bobby Slowik was quite familiar with Ramsey. Slowik was an assistant with the 49ers from 2017 through 2022, and saw Ramsey in NFC West battles twice per season.
"Jalen is a really good player and he's been a really good player for a long time," Slowik said. "I've gone against him it feels like 10 times now and every time I've gone against him, he's impacted the game a great deal in some way, shape, or form and I anticipate that to be no different this week. We've got a lot of respect for Jalen and what he does."
According to NextGenStats, Ramsey's the best corner in the league in man-to-man coverage. He's allowed a 29.8 passer rating as the nearest defender in man coverage in 2024.
Collins, meanwhile, is one of the best in the NFL against man coverage, averaging 3.4 yards per route run against man coverage.
3) Tua to tango – The Dolphins season was stunted by the loss of quarterback Tua Tagavailoa for four games. They lost three of those contests. With Tagavailoa starting under center, Miami is 6-5.
He leads the NFL in completion percentage (73.8) and he's thrown 17 touchdowns and just a quartet of interceptions.
"I respect Tua all the way back at Alabama watching him there," Defensive End Will Anderson, Jr. said. "He's been tremendous. He's the rock of that team. He gets that team going and I wish him nothing but the best. He does a really good job of handling the situation that he's in and making big plays when they need to be made."
Tagavailoa is on pace for a third consecutive season with 270 or more passing yards per game and a passer rating over 100. That would tie him for the longest such streak in the history of the NFL.
"The first thing that jumps out is just how efficient and accurate Tua is with the football," Ryans said. "He gets the ball out very quickly, but it's accurate and he's getting it to the hands of some dynamic playmakers."
4) Can they pressure him? – As Ryans mentioned above, Tagavailoa and the Dolphins offense get rid of the ball very quickly. So fast, in fact, that Next Gen Stats said he averages 2.4 seconds from snap-to-throw, which is the best mark in the league.
He's also been sacked 18 times in nine contests, and is going against a pass rush spearheaded by Danielle Hunter (10.5 sacks) and Anderson (9.5 sacks). Anderson explained the challenge in facing an offense that throws as quickly as Miami's.
"Just don't get frustrated," Anderson said. "We obviously we want to get home. But you know how the teams are going to attack us, and you know they they know the system like the back of their hands. We're just going to stay in our spot, not take the eye candy and just get off the ball and just react."
Overall, the Texans have 42 sacks as a team, which is the second-best mark in the NFL.
5) Weapons abound – The Dolphins have a pair of excellent pass-catchers in Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. Hill's coming off a 10-catch, 115-yard performance last week against the Jets, and he also caught a touchdown in that game.
Waddle's caught 54 passes for 700 yards in 2024, while Hill has 65 receptions for 769 yards.
Tagavailoa also spreads the ball to tight end Jonnu Smith and De'Von Achane. Those two have each caught more than 60 passes apiece. Defensive Coordinator Matt Burke described how dangerous the Dolphins offense can be.
"Some of the explosives are coming a lot with some of those underneath catches and obviously you get the ball in Hill's hands, or Achane's hands, or all of those guys, they can do some damage," Burke said. "It's going to be about restricting space and trying to take away because that's what they're trying to do. They're trying to get the ball in space out of Tua's hands into the playmaker's hands and let the speed show up."
