The Miami Dolphins face off on Sunday, December 15 (1 p.m. TV: CBS) to the Texans at NRG Stadium, in the toughest clash of the four finals left, looking to get on the last train to the playoffs.
The Miami team comes from a brilliant overtime victory against the Jets at Hard Rock Stadium, their fourth in the last five matches, with which they kept intact their hopes of advancing to the postseason.
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The Dolphins (6-7) are second in the East Division and 9th in their conference and need a victory like May water; while the Texans (8-5), after defeating the Colts, go first in theirs, the South, and could secure the position if they beat the Dolphins.
Miami not only needs to win if they don’t favor the Colts’ results (8th, 6-7) vs the Broncos (7th, 8-5), the Chargers (6th, 8-5) vs. Buccaneers and the Ravens (5th, 8-5) vs Giants, at least a couple of them.
But first, the Dolphins need to take the game forward in Houston, and to do so he has the good time of his quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who has completed 70 percent or more of his passes in seven consecutive games, since returning from the injured reserve, with a touchdowns-interception ratio of 15-1.
However, he will have to be careful with the Texans, who have the second-highest pass rate intercepted in the NFL (3.72%).
Although Miami has not given up its ground game, with RB DeVon Achane and Raheem Mostert, everything indicates that with Tua on the court, they prefer the airstrike, mainly aimed at wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, who are also going through a good time, in addition to tight end Johnny Smith.
Miami coach Mike McDaniel is always cautious about the list of injured players available for the game.
Bradley is likely to reappear against the 49ers on December 22 at Hard Rock Stadium, as is Armstead. Chubb’s condition is officially questionable, while Armstead’s is doubtful, although perhaps both can play for a few minutes.
The other part of the equation is the defense that fits perfectly into the QB type of QB C.J. Stroud. Miami’s defensive line is expected to make Stroud’s life difficult and there passes much of the keys to victory for the Dolphins while Miami is not the favorite, he does have his options to get out angry this time.
Our team has been extremely focused on the details of the game plan and within that comes some confidence when the decisive moment comes at this stage of the season,” McDaniel said. I think, during the season, the team is really motivated by the moment of truth and is prepared for this game.
On the other hand, this coming the Dolphins by mutual agreement released WR Odell Beckham Jr., who did not introduce himself to the practices this week. Beckham signed a one-year contract for $3 million with the Dolphins, but could barely play after undergoing knee surgery in the off-season, starting on the disabled list.
Was it best for both parties? I think we’ve been very connected. He had a difficult start in terms of having to rehabilitate during the season, McDaniel said. Then it was simply as simple as or as simple as what is best for him and the team in the future. And we thought it was a good time.
