Defensive lineman Jerry Hughes is in his first season playing for the Houston Texans and is poised to make an outsized impact for the team against the Miami Dolphins in Week 12. As a former member of the Buffalo Bills, Hughes has plenty of experience playing against this AFC East opponent and has put up some impressive career numbers against the Dolphins since entering the NFL in 2010.
With a whopping 18 games under his belt playing against the Dolphins, Hughes has managed to bring down the quarterback seven times for 68 total yards lost, tallied 33 total tackles, and forced three fumbles. These numbers point to some serious production waiting in the wings for the Texans in this matchup, and against one of the league’s best teams by record, Houston will need all the help they can get.
While Hughes alone won’t be able to deliver the Texans a win in this game, the team is certainly hopeful that a few other contributors on their defense can step up to help keep Miami’s offense at bay. No other defenders have nearly as much experience playing against the Dolphins, but with a solid enough gameplan, the unit could come to surprise some fans who expect this matchup to end in a lopsided Miami victory.
For now, Houston will have to wait to see what their team can muster against one of the top teams in their conference with just a handful of games left to play. Still in search of their second win of the season, the Texans and their fans are desperately hoping that the team’s 2022 campaign doesn’t end up a total loss by the end of Week 17.
A win against Miami this weekend would be the best way to ensure that there is at least some degree of excitement to keep Houstonians excited about the franchise heading into the team’s rebuild in 2023.