The Miami Dolphins and Los Angeles Chargers will lock horns tomorrow in Miami Gardens with the Dolphins looking to push their record to 6-3 on the season and their winning streak to 5. Miami hasn’t been in this good of a position at the halfway point of an NFL season since 2014 and the momentum and energy of the franchise is undeniable. There will be bumps in the road ahead. But the Dolphins hope to avoid a letdown tomorrow against a 2-6 Los Angeles team that has plenty of talent but seemingly finds a new way to let wins slip through their fingers each and every week.
Miami has a killer opportunity to push themselves to new heights over the next month and that all starts on Sunday against the Chargers. What should we expect to see? We’re glad you asked.
Here are five bold predictions:
Mike Gesicki bounces back
The 2020 season hasn’t been overly kind to Mike Gesicki’s stat production. The big tight end has struggled to find production on a weekly basis and instead has become seemingly a boom or bust proposition each and every week. But Gesicki did begin to show some signs of life with QB Tua Tagovailoa last week, catching a deep over route and then securing a critical catch on Miami’s game-winning drive. The chemistry is showing signs of potential but more importantly when you look at the Chargers’ defense, all three of the team’s top linebackers and half of their starting safety duo is allowing opposing quarterback ratings over 100 on the season.
Opportunity knocks this week for Gesicki.
Tua Tagovailoa will not be sacked
The rookie quarterback was pulled down three times last week against the Arizona Cardinals and was sacked once (and stripped) by Aaron Donald and the Rams in his first start the week prior. The Chargers announced on Friday that they’ll be without Joey Bosa for this contest and unless the Chargers change their tendencies this week without Bosa, that doesn’t bode well for Los Angeles’ ability to get pressure.
Los Angeles is one of the NFL’s least-frequent blitzing teams and without their best pass rusher, how they heat up Miami’s pocket is to be determined.
Justin Herbert throws for 350+ yards
The Chargers will get their offensive yards, that much is certain. When you have an arm as big as the one Herbert sports and are throwing to big-bodied pass catchers in Keenan Allen and Mike Williams and Hunter Henry, you’ll get some hits down the field. But the objective for Miami will remain the same:
Bend, don’t break.
So if Herbert gets his chunks but the Dolphins clamp down in the red zone and force field goals instead of touchdowns, that feels like a perfectly winning formula for Miami. The Dolphins would in a perfect world not see this prediction become reality. But even if it does, the pathway to a victory remains clear.
The Chargers will lead in the 4th quarter…
We hope we’re wrong, here. But the Chargers, even amid all of the struggles they’ve had in games, have constantly been in position to secure wins. There’s no reason to think that the Chargers’ offense won’t find enough success to put them in the lead later into the game. This team can move the ball proficiently and if Miami has any self-inflicted offensive wounds, it will set a very easy script to follow: one that has the Chargers out in front late in the game.
…and the Dolphins win!
Look for Miami do find the right plays in the right areas of the field. If they’re able to win defensively in the red zone and keep Tua Tagovailoa clean without Joey Bosa on the field, then Miami will have every opportunity to pull out a win. Our final prediction? Miami wins this contest:
Dolphins: 27
Chargers: 23
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