Miami enters this game winning 5 of their last 6 games and in 7th place in the AFC for the playoff hunt. There are many headlines for this matchup, two of the only 3 black head coaches are going at it and the more intriguing one is the two Rookie QB’s who will square up against each other this upcoming Sunday. Why so intriguing? Well in this past NFL Draft the Dolphins chose Tua Tagovailola taken 5th over the Chargers Rookie sensation Justin Herbert taken 6th and from the looks of things in this short entry level season for both QB’s that Miami would not have made a bad choice either way.
Due to a freak injury to starter Tyrod Taylor, Justin Herbert was thrust into the starting lineup in week two against the Kansas City Chiefs and even though they lost that game Herbert proved he belongs as the starter especially after getting a 20 second notice before the game that he was starting. He has lit things up ever since!
Herbert has been outstanding so far as he has thrown for 2,146 yards (11th) 17 TD’s (tied 8th) and 5 INT’s (11th) and 104.7 passer rating. It truly is not on him that their 2-6 record exist.
Tua Tagovailola was not named the starter at the beginning of the season as veteran QB Ryan Fitzpatrick gave Miami the best chance to win at that time so Tua sat for the first 6 games only getting playing time in mop up against the Jets week 6 game.
Much to the surprise to everyone head coach Brian Flores decided to start Tua the following week (After a BYE Week) against the Rams and Aaron Donald of all teams! And even though it was not a great showing Tua did enough to not lose the game and Miami’s defense and special teams contributed heavily in the win.
Last week was Tua’s coming out party as he played extremely well in the game throwing 20/28 for 248 yards 2 TD’s and 0 INT’s for a QBR of 103.8. So even though we don’t have many games to really get an idea of how well Tua will transition on the NFL level, we can say after just two games and a 2-0 start, So Far So Good!
Tua on the matchup?
“It’s not a competition between me and Justin,” Tagovailoa said. “It’s a competition for myself to go out and see what I can do to help our team be successful against their defense. And I’m pretty sure it’s the same for Justin as well.”
The Opponent
Los Angeles Chargers @ Miami
- Where: Hard Rock Stadium (Miami Gardens, FL)
- When: Sunday, Nov. 15
- Time: 4:05 p.m. ET
- Point Spread: Miami -2.5
- O/U 48.5
- TV: CBS
On to the match ups
The match up: on Offense
The Los Angeles Chargers are ranked 2nd in total offense averaging 420 yards per game on offense, scoring 25.6 points a game while Miami ranks 27th on offense (Down from last Game) averaging 322.9 yards per game on offense, scoring 27.8 points per game.
The match up: on Defense
The Los Angeles Chargers defense is ranked 14th in total defense and is giving up on average 358.5 yards per game and allowing 27 points per game, while Miami is ranked 22nd in total defense (Down from last week) giving up on average 384.3 yards per game 20.1 points per game (tied 4th in the league). (Both Down from last week)
The Strategy:
For The Dolphins:
Miami needs to still try and improve their run game and this game would especially be the time to have a good running game because Herbert has the Chargers offense playing great ball and he has averaged over 300 yards passing a game sine he has been starting. An effective run game can slow the game down and hopefully keep the Charges offense off the field.
Miami did a nice Job with Tua with a variety of moves last week as they did RPO’s, moved the pocket and Tua displayed why he was a high pick in the draft with his pinpoint accuracy and decision making in his 2nd start of the season against Arizona and what was even more impressive was his play in crunch time in the 4th quarter last week driving the Dolphins down on a 10-play, 93-yard drive that ended with a game-tying touchdown, and also putting them in position to kick the game winning field Goal to pull out a win against a very good team on the road!
For The Los Angeles Chargers
They say you are what your record says you are and for the most part that is true but as with anything in life there are exceptions to any rule and the Chargers are a better team than their 2-6 record shows as they have lost some game late in the game and due to a few mistakes. They could easily be 6-2 and Miami should not overlook this dangerous team.
The Rams should test their run game against Miami as they still are suspect against the run and despite being 4th lest in points allowed in the league the numbers show teams can move the ball effectively against Miami’s defense in both the run and pass as last week Kyler Murry Torched Miami’s defense with his legs (over 100 yards rushing and 1 rushing TD) and his arm (283 yards passing and 3 passing TD’s)
Herbert is not the running threat that Murry is (Not Many Are) but he is mobile and will take off and he has a cannon for an arm as he is a big prototypical QB 6′-6″ tall and 236 LBS.
Hopefully Howard and Jones play a better game than they did last week or Miami will be on the losing end of this matchup!
My Take:
Miami is well coached and so I do not see them underestimating the Chargers and in fact they know very well what to expect from the Chargers. The Dolphins will need all 3 phases of their game hitting on all cylinders in order to pull this game off. This game concerns me a lot and I have a bad feeling about this matchup.
The Defense will need to put a lot of pressure on Herbert and hit him early and often and make him uncomfortable in the pocket or this game will be lost.
Predictions
Computer Pick: Miami 30, Chargers 24
TDS Pick: Miami 28, Chargers 27 (My Homer Pick)
GO MIAMI!!!!!!
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The Dolphin Seer 