Will Phins Change the Narrative vs Pack?!
Phins must overcome the past to set a course for a bright future
The Miami Dolphins took care of business against the New England Patriots and arguably played their best game of the year, on both sides of the football. Sure, the Patriots aren’t good this year, but a win is a win and every one of them counts this far behind the eight-ball. After an ugly start, Miami has fought their way into the playoff hunt and will get the chance to really prove themselves tonight in Green Bay.
How will the Phins handle themselves in what may be the biggest moment of this regime?
I don’t know. What I do know is a whole lot is riding on this Packers game.
Not an easy road for the Phins but..
The Dolphins have a triple whammy of obstacles and narratives to overcome in this game. Miami and Tua haven’t been able to beat teams with winning records, win on the road in very cold temperatures, and win on prime-time Thursday night.
The Phins will either own the monkey or get it off their back with the outcome of this game.
This is the perfect litmus test to see where this team truly is at so we fans don’t have to keep guessing. At least that’s something we can hold onto win or lose.
Considering the Dolphins were at 2-6, it’s an amazing opportunity to play in a Prime-Time game that is meaningful at the end of November. At least this is a testament to the resiliency of this team, to keep fighting and give themselves a chance to even be in this position. The Dolphins are a small underdog at +3 and being on the road that’s probably a generous line by the various price per head sites. There is slightly more action on the Packers at about 56% to 44% currently and this on paper should be the most entertaining of the three thanksgiving games.
Packers in the cold will be a tough out!
Green Bay has looked good this season with an 8-3 record and a young QB in Jordan Love, whom Miami has never faced. The Packers are always tough at home and their fans love them, so they’ll have a strong homefield advantage. It won’t be an easy win, not by a long shot.
The Packers are a tough nosed team with a very solid defense led by the ball hawking Xavier Mckinney, who is tied for the most interceptions in the league this year with seven. In addition, the Packers rely on their running game that is led by the bruising Josh Jacobs who is third in the league in total rushing yards with 944 yards and 7 touchdowns. Jacobs is a bulldozer of a running back, and in a cold weather game you can bet the Packers are going to give him a bunch of touches to try to wear down our Miami Defense. Our defense needs to make it a top priority to stop Jacobs, early and often.
On our offense even though the Dolphins have been beating up on inferior defenses, they have been improving each week. The biggest improvement has been how they have continued to get their tight end Jonnu Smith involved in the passing game. Smith has 18 catches for 233 yards and 3 touchdowns in the last 3 games. Smith has done wonders for the Dolphins because now there is a true third threat in the receiving game besides Waddle and Hill. We’ll need some very good production from Smith to beat the Packers.
As I mentioned last week, it was only a matter of time until Waddle and or Hill had a big game. Waddle was the one to break out first with a big game against the Patriots with 144 yards on 8 catches and a touchdown.
Maybe this week in Green Bay it will be Hill’s turn to breakout for our offense?
Miami can’t expect their defense to keep this a low scoring game with Kendall Fuller out. This game will demand that Tua drive the offense to score a ton of points.
Can this offense finally drive the team to a win in a critical game?
I can’t help but feel there’s a lot more than just this game riding on McDaniel and Tua. Let’s hope it’s a very happy Thanksgiving for Phins fans!
What are the rest of the Miami Dolphins news fans thoughts on this upcoming game for the Dolphins, and can they finally change the narrative?
