The Miami Dolphins traveled to Minnesota to take on the Vikings in week 14 and despite a close first quarter, the Dolphins blew the Vikings out of the water with a 47-13 victory to improve to 8-4 on the season. The Miami Dolphins are 7-1 since making the trade for Russell Wilson. It is safe to say that Wilson has elevated everyone on the team and the Dolphins are in the playoff hunt despite starting the season 1-3. The Dolphins put their backups in going into the fourth quarter and for the first time this season and he completed his first pass for 42 yards.
The Dolphins seemed to almost scathe away without harm, but late into the fourth quarter, defensive Christian Wilkins tore his labrum. Wilkins will be sidelined for the next three games. In his place, rookie defensive end Myjai Sanders will be asked to step up. Sanders hasn’t been asked to play at all this season, but the Dolphins drafted him in the fourth round, and they really like his drive and tenacity. He’s a very raw player, but the Dolphins believe that this time as a starter will help his career in the long run. Coach Fallen elected not to search for a better defensive end in free agency despite defensive end Shelby Harris being available. The Dolphins met with Harris, but ultimately decided to walk away from the table when Harris asked for $2M for the remainder of the season. The Dolphins starting punter was held out of practice this week due to Covid, so they were forced to sign a replacement, and that left them with just under $1M free in space. This was one of the Dolphins best performances this season and they are hoping to ride the momentum right into next week.
Offensive Statline of the Game –
Will Fuller – 6 receptions for 221 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Will Fuller has come on strong that past few weeks and he was targeted the most in this game. Russell Wilson found Will Fuller on multiple deep strikes behind the Vikings defense. Jaylen Waddle also added 3 catches for 111 yards and a touchdown. Despite their impressive 527 total offensive yards, they had just 69 rushing yards. The Dolphins have made attempts to improve their running game, but it’s been without success. Coach Fallen has rotated his halfbacks at the starting position, but both have been stagnant when trying to gain positive yards consistently.
Defensive Statline of the Game –
Juanyeh Thomas – 3 tackles, 3 interceptions, and 1 touchdown.
The Dolphins fourth round rookie had a huge impact early on in the season, but wasn’t able to statistically have much success in the past few games. However, he was able to turn that around with his performance this week and it has catapulted him ahead of the other contenders from defensive rookie of the year in the AFC. The Dolphins will need Thomas to continue his strong performances because they face off against two divisional opponents in the next two weeks.
The 8-4 Miami Dolphins will host the 8-4 Buffalo Bills in week 14 and the Dolphins haven’t had a lot of success at home this season. The Buffalo Bills swept the Dolphins last season, but this was against a Dolphins team without Russell Wilson. Miami believes that they have the offensive firepower to go toe to toe with the dominant offense of the Buffalo Bills. Both teams have average defenses, so this game is going to be decided by who controls the time of possession and which team can force the other into making a mistake.
