The Miami Dolphins come off a bye, and following the Buffalo Bills’ win on Thanksgiving, sit in second place in the AFC East at 7-3.
On Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium, they face the 1-8-1 Houston Texans. Miami has gotten wins in the last two seasons after their bye week and looks to make it that three in a row after the week off.
Houston leads the all-time series 8-2 which included seven straight wins from 2003-12. The Dolphins won two of the last meetings (2015 and 2021) and 2018 was a Texans victory. Miami aims for two in a row against the Texans for the first time.
The Texans are the 32nd-ranked offense in the NFL, while the Dolphins are the third-best. Houston is also dead last in rush defense and 31st in total defense.
This is a prime spot for Jeff Wilson Jr. to shine once again for his new team. Raheem Mostert didn’t practice Wednesday or Thursday with a knee, so his status is something to watch over the next few days.
Whether it’s Wilson or a combo of him and Mostert, the Dolphins should have no issues running the ball this Sunday. Wilson is even looking to become the first Dolphins running back to have consecutive 100-plus-yard games since Kenyan Drake did so back in 2017.
If Mostert plays, another thing to keep in mind is the last time Miami had a pair of 100-yard rushers in one game was Mercury Morris and Don Nottingham back in 1975.
Despite the Dolphins’ rushing attack starting the season slowly in weeks 1-6, a healthy offensive line and the acquisition of Wilson are among the reasons the ground game has picked up since Week 7.
Since then, the Dolphins have been averaging 122.5 rushing yards per game, 16th in the league, which is a huge jump from being ranked 27th in the first six games of the season (97.7).
Flipping over to the air attack, which has been remarkably efficient and potent since Tua Tagovailoa returned from injury, more credit should be given to the solid job by the offensive line.
In addition to Tagovailoa’s quick decision-making and pocket presence, the offensive line has kept him safe, as the Dolphins rank first in the NFL since Week 7 in sacks per pass attempt.
Highlighting more of the Dolphins’ offensive dominance in their four-game win streak, Miami is within the top three in several key categories.
They’re second in total offense (429.5 yards per game), second in yards per play (6.98), second in passing offense (307.0 yards) and tied for third in scoring offense (30.3). They’re also tied for third in passing touchdowns (10) and third in completion percentage (72.4%).
The Dolphins are tops in the NFL, since Week 7, in yards per attempt (9.16) passer rating (126.1), sacks allowed per attempt (2.2), as well as first in interception rate (0.0).
Tagovailoa’s top target, Tyreek Hill is arguably the league’s non-quarterback MVP and needs just nine more receptions to claim a top-five season in Dolphins history in the statistic. He has a chance to accomplish this in just 11 games, should he hit the number Sunday.
It’s Tagovailoa, Hill, fellow wide-receiver Jaylen Waddle and a slew of supporting cast members like Trent Sherfield, Mike Gesicki and the aforementioned running backs that have catapulted Miami in the last few weeks to legitimate contenders.
The Dolphins went from the 11th-ranked team in point differential to third in the NFL since Week 7.
Part of Miami’s offensive success is the red-zone efficiency so far, scoring touchdowns on 67.6% of their trips inside the opponent’s 20-yard line, ranking sixth in the NFL. In goal-to-go situations, the Dolphins are number one in the league, getting into the end zone 92.9% of the time (13-of-14).
Defensively, Miami’s unit has made some strides despite injuries. Over the last four games, the defense has ranked ninth in the NFL in yards allowed per play and went from 29th in opponent passer rating in their first six games to 13th since Week 7.
In the first six weeks of the season, the Dolphins were giving up 7.51 yards per pass attempt to their opponents, which ranked 28th in the league. Since then, Miami has improved that vastly to just 5.96 yards per pass attempt, good for ninth in that time period.
Newly acquired pass-rusher Bradley Chubb is coming off his first home game back in Week 10, where he recorded a half-sack and three quarterback hits.
Pairing with Chubb is the developing sophomore sack artist Jaelan Phillips. He has 3.5 sacks on the season, yet he’s getting to the passer lately. In four of his last five games, Phillips has recorded multiple quarterback hits. In that other game, he got to the passer once. He only had two quarterback hits in the first five weeks of the season and 10 since Week 6.
The Dolphins’ defense gets a home matchup against the 32nd-ranked team in the NFL in total offense, with a second-string quarterback starting to boot. Fifth-year journeyman, Kyle Allen is on his third team and will make his 18th career start. As a starter, he’s 7-10.
This is a game Miami not only must win to keep pace in the AFC East and the conference as a whole but must do so with relative ease. A win on Sunday would be the Dolphins’ fifth-straight win, making it the third consecutive season that they’ve had a five-game winning streak.
A victory would also give the Dolphins an 8-3 record for
the first time since the 2001 season. Miami is 19-14 all-time in games immediately following the bye week.
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