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Giants (1-3) Dolphins (3-1)
The Miami Dolphins opened the season at 3-0,
and took their first loss on Sunday to the Buffalo Bills. Miami was coming off
an impressive 70-20 win over the Denver Broncos, and didn't expect to fall to
the Bills with a 48-20 loss.
The Giants Monday night game was no treat for
the fans at MetLife Stadium. The Seattle Seahawks put the Giants behind from the
start and Seattle just kept going until they finished up with lopsided 24-3 win.
Miami Dolphins
Last year was the Anniversary
of the Dolphins perfect season, where they won all their regular season games
and three playoffs games, to finish up at 17-0 with their Super Bowl VII win.
Mike McDaniel is in his second season as head coach, and it was his guidance last
year that helped them continue their celebration thoughts as he guided them into
the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
Because of multiple concussions,
they had lost starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa for four regular season games,
and he missed their wild card game with the Buffalo Bills, which they lost 31-34.
Last week they were at full strength for the rematch and weren't happy with the
results, which now has them tied with the Bills at 3-1 for the division lead in
the AFC East. Miami Dolphins
Offense
Tua Tagovailoa is the only lefthanded starting quarterback in the NFL, and defenses
he faces have to adjust to that. He is second on the list with a QBR of 79, which
puts him ahead of quarterbacks Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert, and
Jared Goff. Tagovailoa has thrown for 1306 yards, more yards than them or any
other quarterback, and he has 9 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. Tagovailoa's skills
and his offensive line have kept him relatively clean, and he had taken only 1
sack up until last week in Buffalo. The Bills hit him with four, with three coming
near the fourth quarter when his team was trailing 41-20.
Tagovailoa likes
to throw to wide receiver Tyreek Hill. He's been targeted 40 times, and no other
receiver on the team has seen more than 16. In four games Hill is right on the
mark with 28 receptions, as he was last year when he pulled in 119 catches for
1710 yards and 7 touchdowns. At his current rate, Hill will have more yards and
touchdowns, as he already has 4.
Jaylen Waddle was the top receiver for the
Dolphins in his 2021 rookie year, but dropped to second behind Hill, who was brought
in last year. That was in part due to the team using Waddle more as a downfield
threat, amounting to less targets and catches, but he made good on them. Waddle
was the top receiver in the NFL last season in yards per reception, averaging
18.1, and is currently averaging 17.5
Rookie running back De'Von Achane is
certainly doing his part in the yards area. His 11.4 yards a carry has him leading
the league, and he has 309 rushing yards and has scored six touchdowns, 4 rushing
and 2 receiving. Miami's top rusher last year was Raheem Mostert. Achane missed
one game due to a concussion, and Mostert has the most team carries, and has 7
touchdowns, 6 rushing touchdowns and 1 catching. Miami
Dolphins Defense
Last
week the Buffalo Bills caught this defense up short. The Bills scored on five
of their first six possessions in the first half to take a 31-14 lead. In four
of the touchdowns they scored, they had to move the ball 75, 80, 79, and 59 yards.
In the second half, the Bills added two touchdowns and a field goal. You wonder
what this defensive group is thinking now knowing they'll face the Giants, who
are coming off a game scoring just 3 points off a field goal, while giving up
11 sacks to increase their total on the year to 23..
This Miami defense was
a bit above the NFL average with their sacks last year, and have improved on that,
sacking quarterbacks 10 times so far this year. Linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel leads
the team with 3, and the rest are spread with eight different players involved.
The Dolphins have given up a lot of points and yards this season, ranking 28th
and 26th in those areas, but the question is will the Giants be able to take advantage
of that. NY Giants Offense
As
they say, it all starts with the offensive line, and the Giants are having problems
keeping their starters on that line. Left tackle Andrew Thomas did not play last
game, center John Schmitz was out after the first drive as well as blocking tight
end Daniel Bellinger. Right tackle Evan Neal did make it through the game, but
the fans may not like to see him on the field any longer after the disparaging
comments he made about them on social media during the week. These next two games
being road trips are away from the stadium. Maybe things will have a chance to
cool down, especially if during that time, Neal shows why he was the No. 7 overall
pick in the 2022 draft by the Giants.
The offense found itself with limited
options, as top receiver Darren Waller had to fill in for Bellinger as a blocking
tight end. Waller was targeted by Daniel Jones only 3 times, and had 3 catches
for 21 yards. Saquon Barkley was out, and the Giants managed to put up just 3
points on the scoreboard. The offense allowed a league-high 36 pressures and 11
sacks. Jones threw 2 interceptions and lost a fumble on one of the sacks. He was
also the leading rusher on the team, scrambling for 66 yards.
Running back
Matt Breida picked up most of his yards catching the ball. Breida was the leading
receiver, and finished up with 78 total yards from scrimmage. The offensive line
is not shaping up well for this week, and even though they just
signed former first-round pick Justin Pugh, it's unlikely he'll be available on
such short notice. Thomas is once again listed out, as well as Schmitz and guard
Shane Lemieux, who was injured in the fourth quarter. Barkley and Bellinger show
as questionable.. Giants
Defense
The Giants have given up a lot of
points on the season, though not all of that is on the defense. Last week alone,
the Seahawks caused three turnovers, which led to them scoring 17 points. This
week they have a real tough challenge as the Miami Dolphins have shown they are
not easy to defend against. They have an explosive offense and have been scoring
points, and that's something the Giants offense has not been able to do. The Giants
defense will have that on their mind, and that doesn't make it easy to decide
to take a chance at a big play unless the results are certain, as mistakes are
too costly for this team. The Giants are in need of big defensive plays that can
lead to points, and that doesn't look promising, as they are the only team in
the league that has yet to force a turnover.
As we've mentioned, sacks don't
come easy against the Dolphins, and the Giants have not come up big in that area.
They rank 31st in the NFL with just four sacks on the season. Kayvon Thibodeaux
leads the team with three of them. The Dolphins gave up four sacks last game playing
without center Connor Williams, and left tackle Terron Armstead went out in the
second quarter. Williams is questionable for this game, and Armstead is now on
injured reserve. The Giants defense allowed the Seahawks just
3 third down conversions on 12 attempts, and were successful at stopping them
on both of their tries on fourth down. Even with that, the Giants lost. The Giants
used Adoree' Jackson to return punts after they pulled Eric Gray as their punt
returner. Jackson went down with an injury returning punts last season, and they
can't afford to lose his cornerback skills against this group they will be facing.
One thought has been that Sterling Shepard should step in and handle that role.
Overall
If we asked you to name a team that has given up as many points as the Giants
- 122, you might right away think of the Chicago Bears and Denver Broncos, who
have given up much more. You may need to be reminded that the powerhouse Miami
Dolphins have been giving up 119. The helpful balancing aspect is that Miami has
also scored more points than any other team - 150.
Getting back to the Giants,
no team in the league has scored less points than them - 46. This is where the
two teams stand now. Per the numbers, even if the Giants score the average 30
points the Dolphins are giving up a game, their defense would need to hold Miami
to less than the average 37 they score. This is going to be a tough one for the
Giants no matter how you look at the numbers. NFC
East Games
Thursday at 8:15pm Bears (0-4)
at Commanders (3-2) - - - Bears 40 - Commanders 20
Sunday at 1:00pm Giants
(1-3) at Dolphins (3-1)
Sunday at 4:15pm Eagles (4-0) at Rams (2-2)
Sunday
at 8:20pm Cowboys (3-1) at 49ers (4-0)
The Commanders 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.
Next Games
Oct
15 Giants at Bills
Oct 22 Commanders at Giants
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