Phins Beating Philly Is Gigantic, BUT a loss…

The Bigger story for the Phins is a win over the Eagles!

The Miami Dolphins have a huge opportunity to shake the NFL with a victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in the defending NFC Champions house. It won’t be easy, no way, no how! And if Connor Williams isn’t playing it will be even more difficult, but there’s no doubt that the Phins have a shot even if Liam Eichenberg starts.

This game will be a battle between Miami’s otherworldy speed and Philly’s trench dominance.

Let’s remember though that while the Eagles are dinged, we are missing a host of stars because of injury. This is why a Miami win would be much bigger than a loss this week… no matter what the media blitz to the negative might be.

But, let’s stay positive and believe the Dolphins can and will win this week.

How Miami plays is the key

The Dolphins have allowed only six sacks on the season and a league-low 12% pressure rate. This is the key especially when you are facing a brutal pass rush that the Eagles have. The Eagle defensive front is talented and deep all along the line generating the 4th-best 29.1% pressure rate with the 5th best 20 sacks on the season. Obviously, this match-up is a massive key for the outcome of the game. If the Phins can keep Tua protected long enough for Hill, Waddle, and Co to attack the hole in the Eagles’ secondary where stud safety Reed Blankenship is missing from injury, then points will come all day long.

The good news for Miami is they’ve been as good if not better than the Eagles in their pass rush generating 7th best 27.8% pressure rate and 3rd best 21 sacks. Both the Phins and Eagles defense is the brainchild of Vic Fangio and that’s interesting in of itself with teams blitzing in the middle of the pack 24% and 25%, respectively.

The big difference is in the run defense with the Eagles 3rd and the Dolphins 19th, so rushing the football is another big key. If the Dolphins can do what they’ve been doing on the ground, this Eagles defense that’s struggled to defend the pass might break with our speed.

A win is gigantic, but a loss isn’t the end of the world

If Miami wins and moves to 6-1 with this long injury list, then it’s a really good bet with the best pay-per-head to start legit Super Bowl hype. A victory over the Eagles Sunday would be a feat of a great team given all the adversity they’d have to overcome. But, really, if it’s relatively close and there aren’t any major injuries, I’ll be ho-hum about a loss. Beating the Patriots and Chiefs would go a much longer way toward the Dolphins winning a Super Bowl… and that’s what this is all about.

If the Dolphins lose to Philly and beat the Chiefs then they’ll still be in control of their AFC destiny. You can’t win every game, so while this one would be an amazing win, the Chiefs game is far more must-win than this one. Of course, I’m hoping we go on a three-game win streak heading into the Bye. Normally, this would be pie-in-the-sky type talk, but this season feels different… Doesn’t it?!

What do the rest of the Miami Dolphins News fans think about the Phins’ chances against Philly?