NFL
The Dolphins Will Square-Off With The Texans In Primetime On Thursday Night
The Houston Texans will host the Miami Dolphins on Thursday night. Miami got off to a 3-0 start and looked poised to threaten the New England Patriots in the AFC East this year, but they have lost three of their last four games.
Houston has been the complete opposite. They are now in first place in the AFC South after a 0-3 start. The Texans have won four in a row.
Last Week
Miami Dolphins
Since quarterback Ryan Tannehill has been sidelined with a right shoulder injury, the Dolphins have relied on Brock Osweiler. He had a decent outing against the Detroit Lions as he completed 22 of his 31 passes for 239 yards and two touchdowns.
Unfortunately, the offensive line couldn’t keep him upright as he was sacked four times. Their running game was decent as well with 107 yards on the ground as Kenyan Drake and Frank Gore split their time in the backfield.
The real story was on defense. Miami gave up 248 yards on the ground. Kerryon Johnson ran the ball for 158 yards. LeGarrette Blount had an additional 50 yards. Running the ball that successfully usually means control of the clock.
That was the case this time around. The total time of possession for Detroit was 33:39 while it was 26:21 for the Dolphins. It’s difficult for a team to outscore the other one when they don’t have the ball longer or as much.
Houston Texans
QB Deshaun Watson wasn’t too impressive last week. He threw the ball for 139 yards on 12/24 attempts with one touchdown. The team did have success on the ground with 141 yards. Running back Lamar Miller ran the ball 22 times for 100 yards and one touchdown.
Houston’s success last week was driven by its defense. They drove the Jaguars to bench QB Blake Bortles, and they sacked backup Cody Kessler 4 times. Safety Tyrann Mathieu added to the dominance with one interception against Kessler.
Thursday’s Matchup
Miami Needs To Tighten Up On Defense
The Dolphins are allowing a horrid 415.9 yards of offense per game. They can’t stop the run as 136.7 of those yards are gained on the ground. Houston is averaging 113.7 yards running the ball. The Texans also have a dual-threat quarterback in Deshaun Watson.
He prefers to stay in the pocket and pass the ball, but he can and will run for a good chunk of yardage when the opportunity presents itself.
Protect Osweiler
As previously mentioned, Brock Osweiler had a pretty decent game last week aside from the four sacks. Houston will certainly bring the rain to try to get to the quarterback.
Miami’s offensive line is going to have to play much better than it did last week in order to have any chance at winning.
Can Houston Keep Its Momentum?
The Texans are riding a massive wave of momentum right now after winning four games in a row. Most importantly, they are sitting in first place in the AFC South. QB Deshaun Watson seems to be playing more relaxed as well. He suffered a torn ACL in the middle of last season in what was shaping up to be a stellar start to his career.
Houston is currently ranked 14th in the league in team total defense. It also seems to be getting back to its dominant form from two seasons ago when they made the playoffs. They gave up just 211 total yards of offense last week and 156 yards the week prior.
The defense also gave up an average of 27 points per game during the first four games. They’re giving up an average of 12 points during their last three games.
Prediction
Miami just seems to be going in the wrong direction at this point in the season. The defense can’t stop the run at all, and the offensive line isn’t as strong as it needs to be against this rejuvenated Texans defense. Houston wins in a blowout.
Fantasy Implications
Deshaun Watson should have a breakout game Thursday night. The Texans’ defense will be energized at home and look to dominate early and often.
Photo Credit
Featured Image courtesy of Neil Williams
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