| Giants
(4-7) Miami (5-7)
Last
Sunday the Miami Dolphins were tied 7-7 at the end of the first quarter with the
Carolina Panthers. The Dolphins added 3 touchdowns and 3 field goals, while holding
Carolina to just 1 field goal. That 33-10 score gave the Dolphins their fourth
win in a row.
Also on Sunday, the halftime
score at MetLife Stadium was 3-0 in favor of the Giants over the visiting Philadelphia
Eagles. It was a tough fought game until the very end, with the Giants coming
up with a 13-7 win. Miami
Dolphins
Brian Flores was an assistant
coach for Bill Belichick for 11 years, and is in his third season as the Dolphins
head coach. In Flores' first year, the team finished at 5-11, for their worst
record since 2007, when they were 1-15. Last year things went much better, and
a 10-6 finish had them falling just short of the playoffs based on tie breakers.
Miami was looking forward to what 2021 would bring after rookie quarterback Tua
Tagovailoa went 6-3 as a starter, sharing time with Ryan Fitzpatrick, who was
gone in free agency.
Things started off with a division win over the New England
Patriots, but after Miami took 7 losses in a row, they expressed interest in acquiring
Deshaun Watson from the Houston Texans before the NFL's trade deadline. Tagovailoa
was 1-4 during that stretch, dealing with rib
and finger injuries that kept him out of some of those games. Tagovailoa was Miami's
starter in their last three wins. Dolphins
Offense
The Dolphins are getting what they hoped they would from Tua Tagovailoa. In one
loss he completed 80 percent of his passes, and in his last two games, 81.8, and
87.1. They weren't against the best teams, a two point loss to Atlanta, a seven
point win over the Jets, and a 23 point win over the Panthers. Still, it showed
that if Tagovailoa has opportunity, he will take advantage of it. DeVante Parker
was the leading receiver last year, but has played in just five games. Parker
was just activated from injured reserve for this game.
Rookie slot receiver
Jaylen Waddle, selected by Miami with their sixth overall pick, has lived up to
expectations. Waddle currently leads the team with 77 catches for 759 yards and
4 touchdowns. Tight end Mike Gesicki is the second leading receiver, just as he
was last year. Gesicki has 52 catches for 596 yards and 2 touchdowns.
The running
game hasn't been there for the Dolphins this year. They are next to last in the
league, averaging less than 3.4 yards per carry, and just 80.2 rushing yards per
game. That may not be an issue, considering how effective running back Myles Gaskin
has been. He's rushed for 482 yards and 3 touchdowns, and Gaskin is the Dolphins
third leading receiver with 43 catches for 212 yards and 4 touchdowns.
Dolphins
Defense
Last year this defense was about
overall average in yards given up, but in key areas, they were tied for 5th in
points allowed (21), tied for 10th in sacks (41), and tied for 1st with 18 interceptions.
They got off to a poor start this season, but in the last four games, teams have
averaged 11.5 points a game. What changed? Earlier in the season the defense shifted
to more zone coverage and less blitzing, Then they returned to what they have
done best in the past. The defense has been blitzing on 46.2 percent of passing
plays during their winning streak.
They're
running with a hot hand, and that's not good news for the Giants, who routinely
struggle to put points on the board. Last week against the Panthers, they held
Cam Newton to 92 yards passing, no touchdowns
and two interceptions, before he was benched. This week they will be facing the
Giants using a backup quarterback. Rookie linebacker Jaelan Phillips leads the
team with 6.5 sacks, and defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah, who had a career high 9
sacks and 21 quarterback hits, is next with 6 sacks. Giants
Offense
Daniel Jones suffered a neck injury
last week in a play running with the ball against the Philadelphia Eagles. Jones
has been ruled out for this game, and it will have Jones missing his first start
of the season, breaking his streak of 13 consecutive games. Backup quarterback
Mike Glennon will get the start. Glennon came off the bench earlier in the season
in relief of Jones, who suffered a concussion running with the ball in a game
with the Cowboys. Glennon went on to complete 16 of 25 passes for 196 yards, one
touchdown and two interceptions. Both interceptions were on deep passes trying
to bring the Giants back into the game.
Freddie Kitchens this week has had
more time to prepare the offense. Even if Glennon had Jones athletic abilities,
one thing you won't expect to see is Kitchens have him running with the ball.
The Giants are down to Jake Fromm as a backup quarterback, just signed off the
Buffalo Bills practice squad this week. Kitchens made good use of what he had
available last week, with receivers Kadarius Toney and Sterling Shepard, and tight
ends Kyle Rudolph and Kaden Smith out.
Kitchens tried to get the ball more
to the playmakers he had available. Saquon Barkley had 40 rushing yards, and 4
receptions for 13 yards. Kenny Golladay was targeted 7 times, and had 50 yards
receiving on 3 catches, and Darius Slayton had 3 receptions for 40 yards. The
offensive line is going to have to be ready to handle the blitz, and offensive
tackle Nate Solder is questionable with an elbow issue. Shepard and Toney are
listed as doubtful. Wide receiver John Ross, and tight end Kyle Rudolph are questionable.
Giants Defense
Patrick
Graham was Miami's defensive coordinator in 2019, and is certainly familiar with
how Brian Flores likes to run things on his team. Of course, that can go both
ways. One thing each will be aware of is that the Giants have been using a defense
that works at limiting big plays, and that has kept them in games. The Giants
were 9th in points allowed last season, and 12th now. That approach might not
be the best against the Dolphins as Tua Tagovailoa gets
rid of the ball quickly, and doesn't throw it deep. Less than 10 percent of Miami's
passes have gone for 20 or more yards. Even running the ball, Miami has only 19
rushes of 10 or more yards this season.
The Giants will have to use a tighter
coverage to limit what slot receiver Jaylen Waddle, tight end Mike Gesicki, and
running back Myles Gaskin can do. They are all good at yards after the catch.
If the defense can bring pressure, as they did last week against Eagles quarterback
Jalen Hurts, who threw 3 interceptions, it could work well against Tagovailoa.
He's completed less than 54 percent of his
pass attempts when under pressure for 2 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. Logan
Ryan, who missed two games following positive COVID-19 tests, will be back on
the field to assist with all this. Ryan played against the Dolphins in the four
years he was with the Patriots. Overall
The Miami Dolphins have been improving on both
sides of the ball. For the Giants, the improvement has just been on defense, and
they brought it all last week to upset the Philadelphia Eagles. The Giants have
four wins on the season, and all of them were upsets. Can they do it again? Much
will depend on how the quarterbacks handle their challenges.
Tua Tagovailoa
is healthy and playing at his best, up against a tough Giants defense that will
try to confuse a young quarterback. Mike Glennon has seen a lot over the years
he's played. Glennon is a pocket passer with a strong arm, up against a blitzing
defense, and he will try to make them pay if it's not working. NFC
East Games
Thursday at 8:20pm Cowboys (7-4)
at Saints (5-6) ---- Cowboys 27 Saints 17.
Sunday at
1:00pm Giants (4-7) at Dolphins (5-7).
Sunday at 1:00pm Eagles (5-7) at Jets
(3-8).
Sunday at 4:05pm Washington (5-6) at Raiders (6-5).
The Cowboys
and Eagles are the NFC East teams favored to win in these games.
Check out.
Giants
On The Air. Listen to the Radio Broadcasts.
TeamGiants on Twitter.
Notes.
Giants
Xavier McKinney is tied for the NFL lead in interceptions by a safety (5)
Giants have had a takeaway in every game this season, including interceptions
in the last eight.
Next Games
Dec 12 Giants at Chargers
Dec
19 Cowboys at Giants |
