Who are the experts taking in Chargers vs. Dolphins?

Find out who national pundits are favoring in the matchup between the Los Angeles Chargers and Miami Dolphins.

The Los Angeles Chargers are 3.5-point underdogs to the Miami Dolphins in Week 14 of the 2022 regular season. The over/under is 52 points, per Tipico Sportsbook.

That means oddsmakers are taking bets on whether the two teams will combine to score more than or fewer than 52 points.

My score prediction for the game is a 31-26 win for the Dolphins, with a total of 57 points. So if I were putting money behind my prediction, I’d bet the over.

As for game picks, analysts are favoring Mike McDaniel’s squad.

Expert	Pick
Nate Davis (USA Today)	Dolphins
Jarrett Bell (USA Today)	Dolphins
Mike Clay (ESPN)	Dolphins
Matt Bowen (ESPN)	Dolphins
Pete Prisco (CBS Sports)	Chargers
Bill Bender (Sporting News)	Dolphins
Gregg Rosenthal (NFL Media)	Dolphins
Bleacher Report	Dolphins

Sunday’s game will begin at 5:20 p.m. PT and will be televised on NBC.

Chargers’ Derwin James not practicing for second consecutive day

Derwin James could be in danger of not playing Sunday night against the Dolphins.

James, who is dealing with a quad injury, was not present on the practice field for a second consecutive day.

James had a hip injury the week prior leading up to the matchup with the Raiders.

Also not practicing for the second straight day were Sebastian Joseph-Day (knee) and Trey Pipkins (knee).

Bryce Callahan, who was limited on Wednesday with a groin injury, was not a participant on Thursday.

Los Angeles could be getting some reinforcements back in Mike Williams and Corey Linsley, as they were full participants after being limited.

Williams has missed the past two games with a knee injury, which he aggravated in the Week 11 loss to the Chiefs.

Linsley missed Week 13 due to a concussion he sustained in Week 12 against the Cardinals.

The Chargers have one more practice on Friday before the final injury designations are released.

Chargers’ reasons for optimism vs. Dolphins

Reasons why the Chargers could beat the Dolphins on Sunday.

It’s time for the narrative battle of the century, with 2020 top picks Justin Herbert and Tua Tagovailoa facing off for the second time.

Los Angeles needs a victory to stay relevant in the playoff race, but the battle of the quarterbacks will take center stage.

Here are four reasons to be optimistic about Herbert’s chances of evening out the series with Tagovailoa.

Who covers Austin Ekeler?

Miami doesn’t have a clear option to track Ekeler in the passing game, as evidenced by last week’s contest against San Francisco. Christian McCaffrey had eight receptions for 80 yards and a touchdown in that game, carving up Miami’s defense even with Brock Purdy playing most of the game. I’m not saying Ekeler is a McCaffrey-level player, but the Chargers back does lead all running backs in receiving yards, with five more than McCaffrey. Ekeler has been a focal point of the Chargers’ offense with the injuries along the offensive line, and that should continue to pay dividends for LA on Sunday night.

Pass protection

Miami is missing Austin Jackson, who was placed on injured reserve this week, while also waiting on the status of Terron Armstead, who did not practice Wednesday with toe and pectoral injuries. If Armstead can’t play, the Dolphins will start Greg Little and Brandon Shell at tackle, who have combined to allow 35 pressures this season. Shell’s pass-blocking efficiency of 95.6 and Little’s of 94.1 are in the bottom 12 offensive linemen with at least 275 pass-blocking snaps, per PFF. That should give Khalil Mack and Chris Rumph plenty of opportunity to generate pressure on Tua Tagovailoa, which will be of paramount importance to prevent him from hitting long-developing routes to Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle.

Run game allergy

Miami runs the ball 22.4 times per game, third-fewest in the league, for an average of 89.7 yards per game, fifth fewest in the league. That’s good for a per-carry average of just 4.0, 27th in the NFL, suggesting that the Dolphins both avoid running the ball and aren’t good when they choose to. Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson Jr. haven’t produced in the same fashion since their time in San Francisco despite playing in the same offensive system. It’s good news for the Chargers, whose run defense has struggled despite a fairly capable pass defense. Los Angeles allows the most rushing yards per attempt in the league, but Miami has already played the defense that allows the second-most: Detroit. In that game, which came in Week 8, Miami ran for only 4.1 yards per attempt despite the Lions allowing 5.2 per attempt for the season. The Dolphins needed 382 yards from Tagovailoa and a defensive stand in the fourth quarter to come away with a 31-27 victory.

Special team struggles

Miami is dead last in special teams DVOA this season, with negative points added in all five categories of the third phase of the game. Kicker Jason Sanders has recovered from a midseason hiccup during which he missed a field goal and two extra points in a two-game stretch, but he still seems to be a less reliable option than Cameron Dicker at this stage. Punter Thomas Morstead is just above average in punter EPA above expected, but Miami’s -5.1 points received from the punt team are sixth worst in the NFL, per Football Outsiders. The Chargers, meanwhile, are the 12th best special teams in the league, with positive points added numbers in every area except kickoff return. However, Miami’s kickoff unit is the fourth worst in the league by Football Outsiders’ metrics. If the game comes down to which team can make a play on special teams, that should move the needle in favor of LA.

4 key things to know about Chargers’ Week 14 opponent: Dolphins

To get you prepped for the Chargers’ Week 14 matchup with the Dolphins, here are some important things to know about them.

After losing to the Raiders, the Chargers meet with the Dolphins on Sunday night, Dec. 11, at 5:20 pm PT.

To get you prepped for Week 14, here are four key things to know about Los Angeles’ opponent ahead of the matchup.

Mike McDaniel is the man with the plan

The Dolphins hired McDaniel, the offensive guru from the 49ers, this past offseason, and the move has paid dividends. Miami ranks fourth in total yards per game (380.2), second in passing yards per game (290.5), and eighth in points per game (24.9). The only area on that side of the ball that has struggled is the running game, where the Dolphins are averaging just 89.7 yards per game, which ranks 28th.

Tua is tearing it up

Whether Chargers fans want to hear it or not, Tagovailoa is statistically one of the best quarterbacks in the league. Tagovailoa has completed 68.1% of his passes for 2,859 yards, 21 touchdowns, and five interceptions. Tagovailoa has the league-high passer rating (112.0). Tagovailoa also leads the NFL in third-down passer rating (137.8), four-quarter passer rating (125.1), red-zone passer rating (115.0), and yards per pass attempt (8.11). Tagovailoa has significantly benefited from playing under McDaniel and having one of the best one-two receiving threats.

Dynamic duo

Wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle have caused problems for opposing defenses weekly. The Chargers are familiar with Hill and his second-to-none speed, having played on division rival Chiefs the past few seasons. Hill currently has 1,379 yards and five touchdowns on 96 receptions. He has four games with at least ten receptions and 150 receiving yards this season. Waddle, also an explosive playmaker, has 972 yards and six scores on 59 catches, averaging 17.1 yards per catch.

Fearsome front

The Dolphins’ defense ranks middle of the pack, as they’re 15th in defensive DVOA. Their strong suit on that side of the ball is along the defensive line. Edge defenders Jaelen Phillips and Melvin Ingram have wreaked havoc at rushing the passer. They have 48 and 31 quarterback pressures, respectively. Bradley Chubb was added at the trade deadline and has been an excellent acquisition. He has 12 pressures and three sacks. Along the interior part of the defensive line, Christian Wilkins is playing the run at a high level. Wilkins is tied for sixth among defensive linemen with 12 tackles for loss this season. Wilkins’ partner-in-crime, Zach Sieler, has also been an integral piece against the run, with three tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, and 28 run stops.

Week 14 matchup between Chargers, Dolphins flexed to Sunday night

Get your popcorn ready as Justin Herbert and Tua Tagovailoa are set to square off under the lights.

The Chargers and Dolphins will face off under the lights in primetime next Sunday.

The NFL announced that the Week 14 matchup between Los Angeles and Miami will now be flexed to NBC’s Sunday Night Football at 5:20 pm PT.

Initially, the two were slated to square off on Dec. 11 at 1:05 pm PT.

This move replaces Chiefs vs. Broncos, as the two games will flip spots on the broadcast schedule for the week.

This marks the fifth time the Bolts will have been given the primetime treatment this season. They’re slated to play at night two other times, Week 16 at Colts and Week 17 vs. Rams.

This is the second time that Justin Herbert and Tua Tagovailoa, both top-10 picks in the 2020 NFL draft, will square off.

In their first meeting in 2020, the Dolphins defeated the Chargers, 29-21.

Keenan Allen on Chargers offense vs. Dolphins: ‘We were confused out there’

The Chargers offense had no answer for the Dolphins defense.

The Chargers knew that they would have their hands full last Sunday, facing a Dolphins defense that has stymied the majority of the offenses that they have played this season.

Unfortunately, their game-plan and results didn’t reflect much preparation for it.

Los Angeles entered this game averaging over 400 yards per game. However, Miami held them to only 273 yards on the afternoon, marking the lowest of the season.

The majority of the Bolts’ offensive success has come with quarterback Justin Herbert, but knowing how stingy the Dolphins’ pass defense is with their disguised coverages and blitzes, the team decided to resort to the ground game to take some pressure off of the rookie.

Unfortunately, the running game was a non-factor, as the team finished with 89 yards on 25 carries, for a 3.56 yards-per-carry average. The decision to go with a run-heavy approach did not pay dividends.

The Chargers did not handle Miami’s pressure well, as Herbert was hit and pressured a handful of times, despite only being sacked once. His targets, including wide receiver Keenan Allen, were blanketed by the Dolphins’ defensive backs.

Allen finished the game with three catches for 39 yards and a touchdown, marking his least productive outing of the season.

Allen said that because the offense was so confused with the Dolphins’ disguises, the best thing to do was run the ball to avoid any catastrophic plays.

“I would say we were pretty confused out there,” Allen said.

The offensive performance left much to be desired compared to their previous outings. Los Angeles will have the opportunity to bounce back as they are set to face a Jets defense that has been poor this season.

3 takeaways from Chargers’ 29-21 loss to Dolphins

Chargers Wire’s Gavino Borquez drops his thoughts on what went wrong in Sunday’s loss to the Dolphins.

The Chargers didn’t get unlucky. Instead, they were outplayed and their mistakes were too costly to overcome in Sunday’s loss to the Dolphins.

Here are my takeaways from Week 10:

Play-calling was questionable

The Chargers knew that the Dolphins possessed one of the best defenses in the NFL coming into the game. However, I didn’t know that would entail drawing up a script that would take the football out of the team’s best offensive player’s hands completely.

Instead, Los Angeles resorted to a run-heavy approach to take some of the pressure off of Herbert in hopes of it helping with Miami’s blitz-heavy scheme. But the decision to run the ball more did not help, as they failed to go for over 100 yards, despite running back Kalen Ballage’s strong outing.

The Chargers called run play on 18 of their 30 first and second-down, putting Herbert in a handful of unideal situations to try to convert on third downs. Los Angeles didn’t have much success, going 4-of-13 on third-down.

While he had his ups and downs, it didn’t help that he was under constant duress on the majority of his drop backs or his targets were erased. But the bottom line is that Herbert wasn’t given a chance until late in the game. Like I’ve said, roll with what is working. Running the football was not.

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Chargers QB Justin Herbert sets another milestone in loss to Dolphins

Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert continues to be one of the very few bright spots.

Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert experienced arguably his least productive performance of the season in Sunday’s loss to the Dolphins.

Herbert only finished 20-of-32 passing for 187 yards, two touchdowns and an interception along with four carries for 10 yards and a score.

Nonetheless, the former Oregon product still managed to write his name in the record books.

Herbert became the first rookie in NFL history with at least two touchdown passes in six consecutive games.

Herbert’s first touchdown pass was a rollout to find tight end Hunter Henry in the back of the end zone. The second came late when Herbert found his favorite target, wide receiver Keenan Allen.

The losses have been difficult on fans to cope with, but the six-time Rookie of the Week’s dominance has been enjoyable.

Herbert will have the opportunity to put up one of his best outings next weekend when the Chargers face the Jets, who have one of the worst pass defenses in the league.

Chargers’ Players of the Game in Week 10 vs. Dolphins

Chargers Wire’s Gavino Borquez gives out individual awards for Sunday’s loss to the Dolphins.

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The Chargers suffered defeat to the Dolphins on Sunday, 29-21.

While there wasn’t a lot of good to take away from the loss, there were still a few players that stood out in all three phases of the game.

Let’s take a look at who’s deserving of this week’s awards:

Offensive Player of the Game: RB Kalen Ballage

There was a consistent trend of this going to quarterback Justin Herbert on a weekly basis. However, Herbert experienced arguably the most underwhelming performance of the season. Instead, Ballage, who was signed to the active roster the day before the game, was among the few who made the most of every snap. Ballage ran hard every single time he got the football, amassing 68 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries. He also proved to be valuable in the passing game, both as a pass catcher and a blocker, finishing with 34 yards on five catches.

Defensive Player of the Game: CB Michael Davis

Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa didn’t light up the secondary by any means, but Davis was the one defensive player who made the most impactful plays in critical moments. Finishing with two passes defensed, Davis was sticky in coverage. Linebacker Denzel Perryman was also in consideration for this award for his efforts against the run, but he failed to reel in a tipped pass, which was forced by Davis for an interception.

Special Teams Player of the Game: K Michael Badgley

The special teams unit struggled mightily as a whole on Sunday. But Badgley was the lone bright spot, as he was perfect on all extra points. For someone who was unable to execute simple tasks like this just a couple of weeks ago, it’s good to see him turn things around.

What Chargers said following loss to Dolphins

Sitting at 2-7, there is not a lot of reason for optimism.

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The Chargers didn’t blow a large lead or have it come down to the final drive to determine the outcome of the game. Instead, the Dolphins outplayed Los Angeles in all three phases of the game, taking care of business by the score of 29-21.

“We got outplayed in all three phases, very disappointed,” coach Anthony Lynn said. But he specifically pointed to special teams.

Special teams has been an ongoing issue all season and it became more evident today with the blocked punt, pair of penalties, and consistent poor field position, both on offense and defense.

Lynn said there were some guys out there today who won’t be out there next weekend when he was asked about the lackluster showing in that department.

The Chargers offense was held in check by Miami’s fearsome defense.

“We definitely underperformed on the offensive side of the ball,” quarterback Justin Herbert said.

The Dolphins got in Herbert’s head early and often with their disguised coverages and blitzes they threw, which led to the team deciding to run the ball more to take the pressure off of the rookie.

Many saw it as head-scratching, given the fact that Herbert has thrived even under the most pressure, but he said running the ball frequently on early downs was the team’s game plan going into the game.

Sitting at 2-7, the hope held by players in regards to the rest of the 2020 season is starting to diminish. While they remain optimistic with their words, their expressions said otherwise.

“We got seven more opportunities. It hurts but you see a lot of talent and grit in this locker room. I’ll go to battle with these guys any day of the week,” tight end Hunter Henry said.

“I am just mad. We are a much better team than 2-7,” cornerback Michael Davis said.

“Every loss is tough and every loss is frustrating. We have another chance and opportunity to play football next week,” Herbert said.